Ginger's Adventures II: Ginger and the Tytonic Union(REWRITE)
by Ginger the Barn Owl
Summary: From within the winds of a sea storm, Ginger is rescued by members of the once evil, but now restored Tytonic Union of Pure Ones, who bring her to the uncharted territory of the Owl Kingdoms. Having decided to join the force, Ablah General Nyra shows her the ropes, and Ginger learns about her new home, her new influence, and the art of being a Pure One with her fellow young Tytos.
1. Prologue

Dead! _The owl screamed in her head, struggling to stay airborne among the violent winds and pouring rain. _I'm a dead owl! Barely old enough to fly and my life ends! I've doomed myself with this idea! I've DOOMED MYSELF!

_Ginger madly flapped her wings, desperate to keep herself from plummeting to her doom into the violent ocean waves below her. She was trapped in an ocean storm, lost, confused, and on the brink of collapsing from sheer exhaustion._

_It was then that the young owl felt something small hit her on the head, and looked up to face it._

_Thousands, or perhaps even millions of round white chunks were hurtling towards her from above, getting bigger every passing second._

Hail!

_Without even thinking, Ginger began to perform barrel rolls and sharp banks, the sheer will to avoid the barrage of ice carrying her through the burst. Her sense of direction was thoroughly discombobulated, but she still got past all of the dangerous hail chunks, only the small ones striking her. It was only about a matter of seconds before the hail stopped falling, and the Barn Owl opened her eyes, which had been shut tightly the whole time._

_The winds slowed for a brief moment, and Ginger looked behind her, completely unaware of what she had just pulled off, but ever glad that she was able to get out of that in one piece. It was a miracle...But she had no time to celebrate, so she flew onward; she had to reach land at some point, right?_

_Before the owl could get much further, her gizzard gave a panicked twang; something was wrong. She sensed something else above her. So she looked back up._

_It was a split second too late._

_The rogue ball of ice, as big as a golf ball, hit her on the top of the head just as she tipped it up. Right after feeling the sharp, intense pain, Ginger's sight began to grow dim, her wings ceased flapping, and her vision became shrouded in darkness_

Good-bye, world. I'll miss you.

_The last thing she saw before the black out was the black shape of another bird hovering over her limp body among the storm, and she felt a set of talons grabbing her own before everything disappeared._


	2. Chapter 1: Strange Faces

The darkness began to fade, and Ginger's eyes pried open with a tired groan.

"Ugh...What...Where...?"

Once her vision had cleared, her gaze darted everywhere. She was in a small stone cave, it looked like, with nothing in it except herself. A dull ache still resonated in her head, leftover from her collision in the storm...That was proof she wasn't dead at least, so she was happy at that.

But if she was alive, where was she? Everything that happened after she was knocked on the head was...fuzzy. Had she been rescued?

_Rescued..._

That word alone made her remember something from within the fog in her brain; the dark image of another bird, and the sensation of being grabbed by the talons by those of another. Everything had gone black after that point, and it had been too dark and stormy to clearly make out any features anyway, so who was she saved by? And what did they intend to do with her, if anything?

Ginger stood up on her talons, becoming lightheaded for a few long moments, but ultimately shaking her head and snapping herself back into alertness. Deciding that she would find out all of this for herself, she called out in hopes that she would be greeted by...someone.

"Hello...?" she asked quietly, her voice echoing a bit off of the stone walls. No answer yet, so she raised her voice a bit more.

"Helloooo?"

This time, she did get an answer. Muffled voices came from outside the exit to the hollow, and she curiously tried to take a peek outside.

But before she could get a good view of what was outside, two enormous figures blocked the sight and entered right into the hollow!

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to get up!" one of them exclaimed.

"'Bout time, eh, sleepin' beauty?" the other chimed in. "We was afraid we'd lose you for a while!"

She paid no mind to the smiles on stheir beaks; Ginger was horrified by them! These owls were enormous! The first was whitish with an odd brown symbol of some sort painted across his chest, and the second was the same, but with the colors reversed. They sporting large, imposing ear tufts, somewhat ragged plumage, and their large, peering eyes were two different colors each; one glowing green and the other a piercing yellow. An odd and very frightening combination of features in Ginger's eyes.

In an attempt to ward them off, she spread her wings and tilted them forward in attempt to make herself look bigger, but up against these two, it didn't amount to much.

"Who are you!? Get away from me!" she warned them.

The two owls looked at each other, a might confused as to what she was so afraid of, before speaking to each other.

"Kid must've hit her head harder than we thought," the white one rasped to his comrade.

"My thoughts exactly; why else would she be 'fraid of the ones who saved her very hide, eh?"

_Saved my hide...?_

"Wait a minute," Ginger realized, slowly folding her wings again and straightening her posture. "You two are the ones who got me out of that storm?"

"Guess you'd already lost it at that point," the second owl surmised. "You was just about to make a splash right in the gulf, you was, and I just barely managed to snag you by the feet before you went in head first. We took turns carryin' you 'cross the ocean and back here."

"The unknown?" she echoed. "And where's the unknown?"

"The two Long-Earred Owls exchanged glances again.

"Erm...Where you from?" the white one inquired. "The mainland, I'm assuming? The U.S and A.?"

"Yeah...Chatham, Georgia, to be exact. How far am I from there?"

The brown one huffed.

"A long way," he admitted. "We weren't sure EXACTLY where you might have blown in from, so we, um...decided to bring you back here with us. Besides, if we hadn't, you'd have probably never seen the light of day again; that skull o' yours wasn't in the bet condition, 'specially after three days out cold over the South Pacific, plus another four once we got you here. We had to force-feed you so you wouldn't starve. Eesh...Good thing you were at least breathin' the whole time. Consider yourself lucky."

"You mean to tell me I was out for a WEEK!?"

"Um...Yes? Hey, you're not brain-damaged so far, so that's a plus."

She stared out blankly in her own disbelief for a few moments before looking up at the two again. Now knowing what she knew, Ginger lowered her guard more still.

"Um...Sorry about that," she told them. "Guess I was a bit shocked by all this."

It seemed like she'd been quick to judge these two. They weren't really all that bad.

"If you wanna talk shock, ask us," the brown owl continued. "We happened to see what you pulled off in that hail cusp, and it was...well...amazing, to say the least."

"Barely got hit by anything bad until the end!" the first agreed. "Even flyers with decades experience have trouble in those!"

"What? The hail? I dunno, I just...It was an instinctive thing, I guess."

"So you mean to tell me that you did all that...without even realizing it?"

"Um...Maybe? I mean, I realized it when I got out of there, but-"

"How long have you been flyin'?" the second asked.

"A few months, I think..."

"A few. Months."

She nodded, and the two owls looked at each other yet again, then back at her.

"Well, I just realized, Tyto," the white one remarked. "We haven't properly introduced ourselves yet, now, 'ave we? Well, let's fix that now. He's Jatt."

"And he's Jutt. So, you, now. What's your name, eh?"

"It's...Ginger. Ginger Wingren."

"Well, young Ms. Wingren, welcome to the Beaks," Jutt told her. "Now, if you'd be so kind as to follow us outside. This dinky lil' place ain't the whole thing, you know."

"Besides, there's someone who'd probably like to see you, now that you're up ant at 'em," Jatt continued. "Told her about what we witnessed, we did."

The young Barn Owl nodded complyingly, then followed the two Long-Earred Owls towards the hollow door.

"So, this place is stone," she noted. "Are we in some sort of cave system?"

"It's far more than that," Jutt answered her, extending a wing, insinuating that she exit first.

Ginger stepped outside, and her beak fell open at what she beheld.

Scores, or perhaps hundreds of owls were bustling about the great stone structure. It was much like a cave, being very large and open with several different pathways and openings leading to different parts of it, but also had a lot of openings leading to the outside, above and along the walls, letting the light of the moon in and illuminating the grey walls. There were all sorts of owls marching and flying among the caverns, but the majority of them appeared to be those of the Tyto Genus; those with the heart-shaped face, much like herself. Some of them even wore face-obscuring iron helmets, but she could still tell they were Barn Owls by what parts of the face she could see from underneath their masks.

"Impressive, ain't it?" Jatt asked her, noting the awed twinkle in her blue eyes.

"What is this place...?"

"Jutt, you take over; I've gotta fetch for the Ablah General."

The brown owl flew away, leaving Jutt to answer her question instead.

"What'd you guys say it was called? The Beaks?"

"That's the Kingdom this place is situated in. And the Owl Kingdoms are all situated on this big island in the South Pacific. See, there's something special about this place; we don't know exactly what, but something protects this place from being found by the humans. no matter how much they advance, no matter how hard the look for us, mankind can't find his place...Either that, or they're just blind as bats with their maps. This place is as big as Spain, so it's said. One might've thought they would've found us by now."

"So, what were you and Jatt doing in the Gulf Coast? And...Come to think of it, how did _I_ get there? I started off along the Atlantic coast."

"You? Dunno," Jutt replied flatly. "Maybe that cyclone blew you 'cross that big peninsula, or something. Forget what it's called...But in our case, we've been trying to branch out and look for new recruits or other apt forces outside the Kingdoms to mix into the force as of late."

"New recruits?"

"Wait till the Ablah General gets here; she'll make sense of it for you."

One of the helmeted owls passed by the empty hollow, giving them a nod as he went.

"Evenin', General," the white-stained owl greeted him.

"And hello to you, Patrol Jutt," he answered gruffly, then turning his attention to Ginger.

"Oh...Is this-"

"You bet your britches it is. And you said she wouldn't make it past the second day, heh..."

"Give it a blow, Patrol," he told him, rolling his slate grey eyes before diverting his attention back onto his path. Once he was out of earshot, the young owl whispered to Jutt.

"Who was that guy?"

"Ah, don't worry 'bout Stryker. I told him to bet his britches that you'd live...To be honest, he's a might big for them at his point; just because he does his job good enough don't mean he gets away with being a snooty old windbag all the time. They keep him in place when the need be, rest assured."

"Hey, you two! Down!"

Jatt's voice rang from above, and he was returning with another owl in tow. Jutt knowingly bowed his head, but Ginger just stood and stared, awestruck, at the owl as she alighted on the stone floor just a few yards away from them.

She was another Barn Owl, just like her, but of particularly slender build, and much taller and older. Her feathers were unnaturally light; not quite an albino, but still very fair, and the tips of her flight and tail feathers were painted a bright blood red, along with the crest of her facial disc. Her eyes were like sapphires, much brighter and darker than Ginger's, and the pupils were ringed with bright gold; it almost looked like the sun trying to shine through her gaze, only to be blocked out like in an eclipse. The sight of her gave off an intimidating aura of graceful regality, powerful authority and vast wisdom.

"So..." she directly addressed the younger Barn Owl, not bothering to introduce herself first. "You're the young Tyto Alba who took on a hail cusp and came out of the thick of it unscathed, who says to have barely been flying for a dozen moons, more or less?"

Her voice was immensely strong; booming and direct, no playing around. Ginger found herself backing away some, and she nodded in response to her before she, too, bowed her head in submission like the two Long-Earred Owls had.

"And is it true what you say about how long you've been flying?"

She was answered with words this time.

"Yes...Yes, ma'am."

Some of the owl's imposing demeanor softened, and she gave off a smile.

"Well, I say...You barely look old enough to have begun the very basics yet. How did you manage to do it?"

"I don't know, ma'am," Ginger answered. "I...I did watch my parents fly a lot when they came and went with food and stuff, so...Maybe I learned some from watching?"

"Hmm...Well, I did some of the same myself when I was your age, did you know?"

"You did?"

"Are your talons really as interesting as you make them out to be, child?"

The owl chuffed out a stifled laugh, and Ginger took the hint, raising her head again to look her in the eye.

"...I suppose you're a might curious as to why you're here," the white Barn Owl presumed. "I'll tell you now; it's not just because we didn't know where exactly you lived."

"Then...Why?"

The owl stepped back, and Jatt and Jutt flanked her on either side, making the already tall bird look even bigger.

"I am Nyra," she introduced herself. "Ablah General of St. Aegolius, and mate to the Lord High Tyto. We are the Tytonic Union of Pure Ones, and we are situated in the Beaks, one of many different Kingdoms of Owls that form this hidden land. The Pure Ones were once harsh, and unyielding toward all things we simply disagreed with, but through a great event from days gone by, our eyes have since been opened, and we have been mended, striving to achieve leadership over the many who need it, instead of a cold set of iron talons, as was once our goal."

"Erm...So...You guys are the good guys?"

"Yes, yes, young Tyto. Well...NOW we are, at least. You'd have to look more into it at our library."

"You guys have a LIBRARY here?"

"Oh, yes. And a dining hall, and several training facilities, a few forges, etcetera, etcetera. I'll give you the grand tour by and by. But before any of that, now that you have proven yourself to be alive and well, you could say that I have an offer for you."

"An, uh...An offer?"

"Yes...What is your name, Tyto?"

"Er, Ginger Wingren, ma'am-Nyra, ma'am. I mean-"

"Just 'your Pureness' will do nicely, young one."

"Yes, your Pureness."

"Excellent. Now, Ginger. The Tytonic Union has accumulated quite a bit of power overtime, but we are still a growing organization. We need all of the help we can get. As a matter of fact, this is exactly why Jatt and Jutt ventured so far from here; to add to our forces, and to see if foreigners would be willing to contribute to our cause. You are the first of what we hope to be many outsiders to plant their talons on Hoolian soil."

"So...What exactly do you want from me?"

"It's simple, really. We wish for you to join us. Become a Pure One. Train. Fight. Fly. Rescue those in need of rescuing. Help to destroy those forces that need be destroyed. Should you accept, your courage and bravery will be rewarded power, purpose, and recognition."

Ginger's eyes widened at the thought. This sounded MUCH better than just wandering around the earth like some vagabond.

Besides, the incident with the hail cusp had caused her to have second thoughts about her original plan.

"Well...Guess I might give it a go," she decided. Nyra chuffed out another laugh.

"Wise choice. Now, I hope you don't mind, but I've already chosen a chamber for you among the trainee's quarters, within close reach of the training grounds and the hollows of the young Tytos you will be training alongside. Think you're up for a flight?"

"Actually, giving my wings a stretch sounds good right about now."

"Then follow me...If you can."

With one powerful sweep of her red-tipped wings, the Ablah General took off, leaving Ginger in the dust.

"Hey-Wh-Wait!"

The young Barn Owl tried to run after her along the ground, slowly spreading her wings as she went, desperate to at least become airborne before Nyra could disappear from view. Finally, her spread wings caught some air, and she was able to push herself off the ground and straight into level flight, her unsteady wings beating loudly and messily. Nyra squeezed through the cracks and crevices of the stone chambers with ease, but her follower could barely align herself with her wake, struggling to just keep from losing sight of her.

Finally, she was able to even out her wings, and managed to gain a bit of speed; Nyra was still leagues ahead, but she grew ever closer as they descended into another large, open section of the cave system, the rising sun shining down through the cracks and holes along the walls giving the grey stone a soft, golden glow. Nyra began to slow her flight in preparation for landing, and she extended her talons to plant them on the floor. Ginger tried to do the same, but was shaky with her descent, and while she landed without a crash, she had to hop a bit when she made it to the ground to keep herself from running right into the white queen. By the time everything was said and done, the younger owl was entirely out of breath.

"Not bad for someone as you as you," Nyra marveled. "Especially one who just awoke after a week of recovery. We need work on your dry takeoffs, though; from the looks of it, you know what to do while IN the air, but not so much how to start and stop it right. Nothing a bit of practice can't fix."

"That's...reassuring..." Ginger huffed.

"But you likely need a tad more rest before we get down to business. In here; this is the chamber I had prepared."

Nyra motioned for the owlet to enter first, and Ginger stepped into the stone hollow that she'd been lead to. She marveled at just how HUGE it was; perhaps it seemed so big because it was mostly empty, but even so, it was still at least three times the size of her old hollow in the spruce tree. The only things in the chamber were a down-lined nest parallel to the exit and two metal pegs jutting out of the wall to the right. And it was especially tall; the ceiling reached up perhaps seven feet, as tall as a young tree.

"...Wow," she chortled.

"What do you think?" Nyra asked her. "A bit spartan, I know, but at some point, we could put in a few bookshelves, maybe some banners if you-"

"This is incredible..."

"Oh. Even without anything showy? Well, I'm glad you think so, Tyto."

"Man..." she marveled again, emitting a breathy laugh. Was all of this to be her very own? It was amazing. "...My old hollow has NOTHING on this place."

"Now that you mention that, I have a question, young Ginger," the General said to her. "Why exactly DID you leave said old hollow? You're barely old enough to fly straight, yet you were found floundering in the Gulf. And yet still, Jatt tells me you come from along the Atlantic coast. Why did you leave so soon? Haven't you a family back home?"

"Well..."

Oh, boy. Ginger didn't want to get into the nitty-gritty of why she fled her home.

"I do. But...I couldn't stay with them."

"Were they cruel to you?"

"Oh, no, no, your Pureness," she corrected. "Mom and Dad, they..."

She sighed.

"They were always good to me...It was my brother who was the problem. Drove me nuts. Next thing I know, I'M the one posing a danger...So I left."

"How would you endanger-"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

Ginger turned her back to the Ablah General, not wanting her to see how wet her eyes had become. Nyra took the hint.

"...I see," she nodded. "Well, one thing is certain; if they knew where you were now, your parents would be immensely proud."

"You really think that?" she asked, turning her head towards the white owl again.

"I know it. Now, it's twixt time; you might as well give that nest a try."

Nyra turned to leave.

"Sleep heavily, Tyto. Your training begins at sunset."

And then she was off, disappearing like a white comet up into the grey caverns. Ginger approached the nest, letting her legs give out and flopping right into it with her wings outstretched. As the woes and worries of days past began to fade away, the Barn Owl let herself fall asleep, and began to snore loudly.


	3. Chapter 2: First Impressions

Ginger was aroused by a short, sharp, screech echoing across the stone walls of the hollow. She rose her head in an instant, eyes wide with surprise and heartrate up by ten beats. She scanned the room; there, standing just inside the entrance, was Nyra.

"Good evening, soldier. Sleep well, I hope?"

"Uh..."

Once she realized what the noise had been, she calmed...and then her grogginess caught back up to her.

"Sun's already slipped halfway below the horizon. We need get started. Come on! On those talons, up and at 'em!"

She pulled herself out of the warm nest, knees weak and gait unsteady.

"That morning muddle will fade once we get your blood coursing through you like it should. Come on, it'll wear off, owlet."

"What...?" Ginger mumbled.

Nyra rolled her eyes. They were off to a slow start it seemed. Hopefully things would pick up pace once she had something for gizzard to grind.

But not before a morning warmup to snap her out of her drowsy daze.

"Follow me to the training grounds," she told her, to which the younger Barn Owl tried to spread her wings.

"On _foot_, if you will."

That at least got into her head alright, as she nodded in understanding before plodding after the Ablah General in an uneven, awkward fashion.

* * *

_..._

* * *

"Can you fly up there?"

The white Barn Owl pointed up at a cliff jutting out over the stone, almost as tall as the ceiling itself.

_Not sure I can make it HALFWAY there,_ Ginger admitted to herself.

"This is an opportunity for you to start working on your dry takeoffs. It seems simple enough on paper: just jump and flap. But there are a few tricks you need know in order to master the technique. You've got to make sure your wings flap evenly, and you must make sure to flap them hard and fast enough; make your wingtips almost meet each other WITHOUT stalling. Got all that? It's not that much."

"I think so..." she answered, still plagued by some residing fatigue. "Even flapping, and...wingtips need to meet just about, right?"

"And another thing; keep an eye on where you're going to land. Got that?"

"Keep an eye on landing spot, yeah."

"Excellent. I'll leave the rest to you, then."

"Oh...Okay, then."

She shook her head to better her concentration, trying to focus hard enough on the ledge; this was her first ever training exercise. She couldn't afford to botch up this soon.

Still, her wings were heavier than they should have been when she opened them. Ginger breathed in through her nares and out through an open beak to combat the fatigue, then gave her head one more vigorous shake before evening out her wings, bending her legs, springing off the ground and syncing her flaps.

To her pleasant surprise, Nyra's advice worked like a charm.

She kept at it, and slowly but surely, the young owl began to rise higher, and the cliff drew nearer from above.

_Make your wingtips almost meet..._ she reminded herself.

The dry takeoff was particularly energy-consuming, however; she found herself emitting the occasional grunt in her struggle to keep rising and not plummet back down.

And that wouldn't only make a fool out of her, but seeing how far the ground was now, it wouldn't feel to pleasant, either.

Finally, she aligned herself with the ledge, but the owl was so busy concentrating on her energy that she didn't even notice she passed it up until-"

"Augh!"

It was to late.

She'd flown too high and hit the top of her head on the roof of the cave. Her wings faltered briefly, but after realizing her mistake, she slowed her flapping and tried to gently lower herself onto the ledge.

Landing turned out to be even more difficult than taking off; slowing down from straight up required a lot of balance. But she did it without crashing, so that was a plus.

The Ablah General flew to the top of the ledge effortlessly, planting her feet down onto the smooth stone floor.

"Hmm...I'm impressed by your raw power, Tyto," she critiqued. "But it will need work. Paying all of your attention into flying alone and not any into your surroundings causes an imbalance...quite literally in your case. Your wings will need the workout. That part should be easy enough, I hope. And, uh...Try to pay special attention to what's directly above the next time."

"Heh...I'll...keep that in mind," Ginger agreed, rubbing the tender spot on her head where she'd hit the rock.

"Excellent for a first go, I must say," the white owl concluded. It was then that Ginger realized she was holding something in her talons.

"How about a little something to get your gizzard going?"

She tossed it, and a few drops of blood spattered. It was a vole; freshly killed. And the sight of it made Ginger realize just how hungry she was.

She grabbed the dead animal by the head, dipped it back and let it slide down her throat in one piece. It was completely gone in a matter of seconds.

"Glad to see you've a healthy appetite, soldier. Your gizzard's likely well-tuned, am I correct?"

"I should think so," the owlet replied. "I mean...It grinds stuff pretty well, and the pellets-"

"Oh, I'm not just talking about its processing function, child. I'm talking about gizzuition here."

"'Gizzuition'?" she echoed. "What, uh, what's that?"

"I suppose you haven't heard the term; it's strictly Hoolian," Nyra explained. "Gizzuition. It's exactly what it sounds like; intuition derived from the gizzard. It is a far stronger force than intuition from, say, the head, or the gut. As an owl's gizzard grows, as does its gizzuition. And when a gizzard is finely tuned, it intertwines with the scrommsaw and surrounding environment, and can give you all the subtle details of any given situation you could think of, be it good or horrible. Gizzuition comes in handy for we Pure Ones; with it, we can tell who's doing what, what enemies are planning, whether one might be dead or living, and so on. But one must know how to interpret he sensations a gizzard gives in order to truly understand it."

"Wow...Am I...going to learn how to use it here?"

"Hm...Well, yes, but actually no. You will learn how to trust your gizzard here, but it is not something that can be thoroughly taught or interpreted by another owl. You must figure out on your own. All you have to do is trust it. Trust that gizzard, and you will prosper."

"Yes, your Pureness," she bowed. "I'll take that to heart. Or gizzard. I mean-"

"Both will do nicely."

"Yes, your Pureness..."

"And another thing."

"Yes, your Pureness?"

"Stop calling me 'Your Pureness' so often. Keep it up and you'll drive me yoiks within a fortnight."

"Yes, your P-I mean...Yes, ma'am."

"Hmm...How about 'General'?"

"Yes, General."

"Oh, yes, that works nicely. Anyway, shall we continue?"

"Yes, General."

"Excellent."


	4. Chapter 3: Novice Exam

"So, I just dig 'em in there and scrape to see how far in they went?"

"That's pretty much it. Now, this is hard wood; flesh isn't typically going to be this strong, so if you can put a good mark in this, that's a good sign."

"Okay...Do I need a running start?"

"No, try to see how deep they go with just a thwack and a pull."

"Alright."

She balanced herself(shakily) on her left foot, stretched the talons on her other one as she raised it, then with one good, hard wack, sent the tips of her black claws careening into the wooden block, and they stuck there. When Ginger tried to pull and leave a scratch mark, however, she found that her claws might have stuck in there a bit TOO well. She couldn't pull them down.

"Um..."

"Just pull your talons straight out of there and don't worry about a slash."

She obeyed, pulling her foot out of the wood. Nyra examined the four holes she'd made; for puncture marks, they were nice and deep, but no slash marks, as she'd hoped.

"...Try it again. And this time, focus more on the muscles in your feet themselves instead of just making the starting holes."

"Yes, General."

So Ginger tried again, and this time, her claws succeeded in leaving scratch marks across the wood. Nyra looked over her work again; not bad for someone just starting out, and especially with just the natural claws alone, but it still needed some work.

In time, however, that raw strength would be put to good use.

* * *

_..._

* * *

"Alright, now this time, we're going to shift right into level flight from a dry takeoff. And trust me; it's not as hard as it sounds."

"I'll take your word for it."

"Now, align yourself with me, Tyto."

She stood by Nyra's side, a good few feet away in order for them both to stretch their wings right.

"Now, listen closely. Once you get into the air, we don't want the plain up and down motion; you need to reach forward a bit and then bring them back as you flap down, sort of like pulling the air under your wings to propel yourself. And remember to keep those wingbeats in sync with each other. Don't want it to be sloppy, do we?"

"No."

"Then repeat after me."

Nyra spread her wings out, and the younger owl readied to follow her move. Then, one after the other, they bent their legs, leapt up and began flapping.

"Pull the air back as you go!" the Ablah General reminded her as she fell further back.

"I'm doing! What I! Can!"

It turned out that rotating the wings wasn't all she had to do; Ginger had to make sure they weren't tilted all the way back as she flapped in order to actually CATCH any air.

She hadn't considered this in her first attempt, and therefore ended up falling flat on her stomach back onto the rocky ground from five feet above.

"Oh, dear..." Nyra mumbled to herself as she banked and turned to land beside her. But she couldn't help but stifle a laugh at the sight of young Ginger, wings spread across the floor, and with an amusing scowl across her white feathered face.

"I suppose it's a good thing we weigh so little compared to other birds and beasts. Otherwise, that could have been a nasty fall."

"Erm...That begs the question. From how high do we need to fall in order for it to kill us?"

"Thirty feet. Maybe forty. Depends on which part of you hits the ground first, really."

"Which is the worst part to hit?"

"Head."

"Oh."

"But, anyway, enough dilly-dally. Let's give this another go. This time, maybe give your wings a bit of stretch beforehand so you can really spread them wide."

* * *

_..._

* * *

"I guess...I guess I've gotten better at that?"

"You most certainly have. And it only took you ten crashed attempts."

"Egh..." Ginger groaned at herself, wrinkling her beak a bit at the thought of how many times she practically humiliated herself out there.

"Oh, lighten up, soldier," the white owl teased, leading her over to another section of the training grounds. "This last exercise should be easy enough for you."

"What is it?"

"Well...Before we get down to business, why don't you slip these on?"

Nyra grabbed something off the wall and tossed it to her, and the object landed at Ginger's feet. They looked like...owl's talons. But they had no bottoms, and were made of old, rusty steel and some sort of animal skin.

"...What are these for?"

"They're training claws, Tyto. Slip your talons through the sock, fit the claws in the hoops along the bottom and then pull on the string to tighten it. Simple."

Cocking her head curiously, Ginger followed her instructions; she slipped her left foot through the left leather sock, aligning her own talons with the metal ones, lifted it up to see each of her black claws go through the hoops on the bottom, then tightened the knot along the inside of the sock, fastening the training claws securely onto her left set of talons. Then she did the same with the right foot, even finding that the added space the left claws gave to her foot actually aided balance.

"If they weren't so worn, I'd say that you look about ready for the battlefield already...Of course, I'm not sure how well you'll fly in them right off the bat."

"So, these are weapons?"

"Absolutely. And even though they've seen better days, those battleclaws can still pack a punch on the right owl."

"How heavy are they?"

"Why don't you find out for yourself?"

The owl looked down at her training claws, then tried to lift up her feet; she could lift them off the ground, but they did weigh her feet down more than she hoped.

"We're going to be keeping those on for a while; the longer we do, the faster you'll get used to them."

"...Yes General," she accepted, somewhat hesitantly, however.

"Come on, owlet, give those legs a stretch, see how long you can follow me in those."

"Where are we going?"

"Oh, nowhere in particular. Just in circles, I suppose."

So Ginger followed the Ablah General around the training grounds on foot. Lifting her claws up in order to take a step was the bigger issue, as the weight of them required her to put a bit more effort into her stride. The good news was that planting the foot back on the ground was easy enough with the weight...for a while. She'd just gotten used to walking this way when Nyra called out.

"Sounds like I'm being followed by a moose in boots back there, with all the stomping!" she mused. "Try lightening your steps a bit, keep those claws from just plopping."

Oh. Well, she could try it...But her legs were already beginning to get accustomed to the weight of the claws, so it wasn't...quite as hard as she thought. But with all the effort she was putting in, Ginger found herself breathing in a bit deeper. She hopes she'd get a break soon.

"Is that as fast as you can go, soldier?" Nyra teased. "Try keeping up with this!"

She quickened her gait, and Ginger refrained from letting out an enervated huff before trying to step in time with the white owl. She managed this, but not after dragging behind for about a minute beforehand.

"Not bad, thus far...But can you do this, Tyto?"

That was when the Ablah General spread her wings and became airborne. The owl following her barely had the strength left to spread them, but she did, and she leapt up to try and fly herself with the heavy claws attached. But the heavy steel weighed her down, and her wings had to pump twice as hard just to stay in the air. It wasn't long before they gave out, and Ginger fell back to the earth, just barely able to slow her fall enough to land clean on her heavy training claws.

But the fact that she'd managed to land on her feet this time after a fall was actually somewhat impressive. Nyra landed beside her again.

"Maybe I should order up a lighter set for you to start out with..." she thought aloud. "...But anyways, there's just one more thing I want you to try before we break."

"Break...?" she huffed, still trying to remain enthused. "What...What are we gonna do now?"

"Over here. Towards the west wing."

She lead her over to the western end of the grounds, and there towards the center, almost right up against the wall, stood a bust of an owl, held together by stitched leather and stuffed with tree bark. There was a red line across its neck, and an 'X' mark over where its heart would be, and the wings and talons of the bust were painted yellow.

"What's this?"

"Training dummy. All you need to do is deal some damage to it, preferably where you see the red lines. Those are the vital areas; you want to either severe the head or take out his heart. On a real bird, you'd kill instantly. Now...Give it a shot."

"Do I need to fly for this?"

"However you want to try to do it, as long as you hit the vitals."

Ginger nodded, then looked at the training dummy from a distance, eyes locked on its head and heart. She breathed in, then started walking slowly towards it, then walking faster, then running as best she could, then spreading her wings, just barely getting up off the ground and gaining speed, and then kicking her right foot out and sending it tearing across the fake owl's neck. There was a ripping sound, and a few of the bark chunks flew out of the torn leather. Ginger tried to stop herself, her metal claws scraping across the stone floor as she drew closer to the stone wall, but she ultimately collided with it.

"We'll have to work on your landings more within the next moon, it seems," Nyra remarked as she approached the dummy to study it.

The head was still attached along the left side, but not by much. Most of it had been torn off. Any real owl would have been decapitated, had they not seen her coming.

"As for damage dealt, however, you pass."

The younger owl heaved out a sigh of relief.

"I think it's time you get a chance to recharge yourself. Nearly midnight, it is. And now that you've passed the beginning course, I'd say it's about time we introduce you to the other young Tytos you'll be training alongside with. Now take off those burdensome claws and follow me."

"Wait...There are more?" she asked as she loosened the string, wiggled her feet out of the socks and followed her to a foreign part of the grounds.

"Four others, right now, to be exact. You seem just a bit younger than most of them, but that shouldn't be a problem for them...unless they want to hear what _I_ have to say about it. In fact, there's one young leia among them that you may find good company in. She's just about your age."

"So...Where are they?"

"Tyto, I'm taking you to their assembly hollow now."

"Wait, we're going there now!?" she almost squawked, not sure if she was ready.

"Trust me, young Ginger; you'll get along just fine."


	5. Chapter 4: Fellow Tytos

"Right in here, soldier, come along."

Ginger slowly and quietly followed the Ablah General towards the hollow opening. She could hear the voices of other owls in there.

Nyra motioned for her to step inside before her, and she nodded, then entered...Then marveled.

This hollow was even more immense than the one she'd been given, perhaps big enough to be considered a cave in its own right. The open roof let the moonlight shine fully through from above, and in the room there was a large, flat stone in the center of the floor with several freshly-killed rodents piled onto it and a single bookshelf along the back of the rounded wall. And, intermingling with one another all over, were the four other trainees.

All of them had the distinct heart-shaped faces that all Tytos possessed, but at the same time, they all looked quite different from one another.

The first one that caught her attention was another Tyto Abla, like herself, but with lighter, almost buff plumage and large, bright sea green eyes. She sat in the corner, her beak stuck in one of the books from the shelf.

The second was no Tyto Abla, as evidenced by his mottled ashen and charcoal feathers, as opposed to tawny brown and white. The greys and blacks were lightly speckled with small white dots, the feathers just above the dark rim of his facial disc were somewhat messy, and his eyes were a soft, subtle brown. He was listening intently to what one of his comrades was saying to him.

The one speaking to the black and grey owl also had dark-colored feathers, but they were much brighter than those of the latter. His plumage was a deep umber brown with tan undersides, and his face feathers were a bright, burnt gold, making the forest green eyes on them extremely obvious. He seemed to be in good humor, and was entertaining his sooty-painted friend with personal stories of his, it sounded like.

Then, the last one. He was yet another Tyto Alba, with bright, reddish rusty brown plumage, and his lightly speckled white undersides looked just ever so slightly sun-kissed. His eyes were a deep amber, and just atop his head was what looked like a feathery fauxhawk. A strangely handsome trait, to say the least. He seemed to...stare at Ginger a bit as she entered the room, and when he accidentally made eye contact with her, he seemed to flash a bit of...deep thought in his eyes before turning his head away, pretending to ignore her.

Nyra entered in right after her, then stamped her foot down onto the stony floor, then screeched to call the attention of all four of the owls. She was met with them all bustling about, putting what they were each doing aside in order to assemble in front of her in a straight line. The umber owl stepped out from the center of the formation, talon raised.

"Trainee Squadron, reporting for duty, General Ma'am!" he answered her.

"Excellent. At ease."

They all loosened their stiff postures, and she continued.

"I am excited to announce a new member of the team. Everyone, this is Ginger Wingren. This fine young'un was retrieved from the midst of a hail cusp by our patrollers, who discovered dodging the falling ice with...quite unorthodox skill for one her age. She's going to be training alongside us from now on, so I'll leave all of you to get acquainted with one another for an additional, shall we say, erm...fifteen minutes? I'll be back at that time."

"Yes, General Ma'am," the umber owl addressed her one more time as she left the hollow. He then turned his attention toward the newcomer.

"So, new recruit, eh?" he began, extending a friendly wing. "Good on ya. I'm Vaygar. Been here pushin' a year."

"Well, that's longer than me," she marveled, meeting him halfway.

"I should say so. You just got here!"

He hooted a laugh, hoping she would join him, but she just stood there, white feathers turning pink. He deflated some.

"So...Where you from?"

"Erm...Chatham?"

"Never heard of that place," the female Barn Owl commented, pulling an atlas from the bookshelf to search for said location. "Which part of the Kingdoms is it in?"

"I...don't think it's in any," she answered.

She looked up from her book.

"...Implying?"

"I'm not exactly, uh...from these parts."

"You don't know which Kingdom you're from, then?"

"Is the United States a Kingdom?"

That was the moment when every eye in the room turned to lock onto her, and she wilfed.

"...You're serious?" the mottled grey and black owl breathed.

"Yes?"

And then, she was swarmed by the three.

"I THOUGHT that accent sounded funny!" the leia exclaimed.

"You're actually from the outside!?" Vaygar screeched. "How'd you GET here?!"

"Erm...I was carried most of the way, I think."

"What's it like?" the female owl asked her.

"Well, there's a lot of...trees where I'm from, I guess?"

"More than here, I imagine," she continued. "The Beaks don't have that much in the way of vegetation except for the oasis of-"

"Don't mention that place, please," the Sooty Owl begged her.

"Sorry, Phillip...But anyway, you get the idea. Ha...No wonder I couldn't find that place on a map, I was lookin' at the wrong one! Come on! Let's see!"

She took Ginger to the stone slab the book was laid out on, then started flipping through the pages.

"So...I think you're the one Nyra was telling me about, is that right?"

"Huh? Who? What? What'd she say about me?" she stammered.

"That we might get along well...Maybe."

"Well, I'd hope so! Oh, I don't mean to be a bother, Ginger, but I've just got so many questions, this is amazing! Ha ha! Ha...Eh..."

She trailed off a bit, a bit ashamed of her rambling, but she perked right back up and stretched a wing out to greet her properly.

"I'm Uklah. Pleasure to meet you, Ginger. Sorry 'bout my over-enthusiasm."

"Oh, no, no, don't be. I'll be honest; I was kind of afraid I was going to be left out of the clique because of me not...being from here."

"You haven't a thing to worry about; I'll show you the ropes just as well as the Ablah General could herself!"

"You'd do that?"

"Love to? Erm...Just curious; can you read?"

"Uh...No."

"Interested in learning?"

"Maybe."

"That's enough an answer for me! 'Ey, maybe when we finish training for the night, I could show you to my hollow and teach you the basics, how's that sound?"

"Well, it sounds...pretty good, I guess, actually!"

"Here we go!"

She stopped turning the pages when she came to a map of the very place Ginger hailed from.

"So, uh, let's see...Which one of these states is this 'Chatham' place in, you know?"

"Georgia, along the Atlantic Coast."

"Atlantic...Here it is. This is it right here."

She pointed with a talon at the state just north of the peninsula jutting out from the bottom.

"Let's see...Is it coastal?"

"I don't think it's too far from the ocean; I got there from my old hollow pretty quickly."

"Alright, Kingsland, Brunswick, erm...'_Effingham?_' Is that how it's said?"

"What'd ham ever do to you?" Vaygar chortled.

"Give it a blow, Vaygar...Huh. I can't find it. Maybe it's too small to be displayed here."

"Maybe so..."

"Hey, maybe it'd be on an individual map somewhere! I'd have to scour the library, though...If you want, we could go there instead of my hollow later."

"Whichever is better for you."

"Ah...Honestly, I'm up for some company. Hey, and maybe I could show you my-"

Uklah stopped talking when she saw the rusty brown owl approach and grab a vole off the table and hurriedly go back to where he was standing.

"...He's been acting all weird ever since you came in," she whispered. "...I've an idea. Why don't you go start up a conversation with him? I'd bet he's nervous. He's got this odd...superiority complex. Felt like he wasn't good enough in his own hollow compared to his siblings, so he let slip once, so I guess he tries to make up for it here. Might be worried about all the attention you're getting; it'd be good if you started out on a friendly foot with him; once you get to know the guy, he's hilarious."

"Well, I trust the judgement of an owl that can read," she responded, taking a small field mouse from the stone slab before leaving Uklah to join him. She stood beside the other Barn Owl, casually working away at the mouse, preferring to rip chunks off of it instead of just swallowing it whole, taking her time.

"...Hm..." the owl hooted. "So...Outside's a big place, isn't it?"

"Bigger than here, I guess," Ginger answered him. "Don't really know much about maps or geography just yet."

"Is it...nice out there?"

"I should think; at least where I'm from. Forests are nice and lush and green."

"Lush and green as Tyto Forest?"

"Don't know; never been there. Is that where you're from?"

"Yes, that's...where I'm from," he nodded, finally deciding to make eye contact with her.

"So then, you'd know. Just how green is Tyto Forest?"

"Green all year, almost. They're almost all evergreen trees, over in Tyto."

"Wow...Nothing changes color in the fall?"

"Not really. Does it on the mainland?"

"To an extent, in my home forest; the pines and leafy trees are kind of mixed into each other. In the fall, it's amazing; reds, golds, browns, and the scattered green...When the sun starts to rise, it really looks amazing; that sort of gold glow covers everything until the sun gets all the way over the horizon. It's real pretty."

"Wow..." he marveled, and then he turned his gaze away some, debating what he would say next.

"Erm...Do...Do you know what else is real pretty?"

"No, what?"

He tensed suddenly.

"Eh, nothing. Forget what I said; not important," he answered curtly. "Come on; can't I catch a break? Why do you ask so many questions?"

Ginger gave him a very strange look, and the owl turned his head even further away.

"So, uh...Ginger, it was, right?"

"That's it. You?"

"...Kludd," he just barely mouthed, nary a noise coming from his beak.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"_KLUDD._"

His voice broke as he squawked the answer out, earning him the eyes of every owl in the room. He finally found that his talons looked quite interesting.

"...My mistake," he answered.

Ginger simply shuffled a bit away from him, picking up the rest of her field mouse in her talons and sliding it down her throat as she normally did. She decided to ignore him for the time being; yes, Uklah did say he had a bit of a superiority complex, and was possibly nervous about her arrival, but this strange behavior wasn't exactly what the owl had been expecting. Plus, he was the biggest, and notably the most brawny out of all the other trainee owls in the room, yet despite supposedly being brash, he seemed so...

Anxious around her.

And what exactly did he think was 'real pretty'? Really, she wasn't sure she wanted to know, but pondering it only made her even more curious.

Her thoughts were interrupted by another sharp quip of a screech that rang across the hollow. All of the owls diverted their attention toward the hollow exit; there stood Nyra.

"Alright, Trainees, time to get back to business! You know the drill, target field A.S.A.P! Move out!"

As she called out the order, the five Tyto owls rushed out to follow after the Ablah General as she made her way out of the hollow and back to the training grounds, spreading their wings in order to follow her as she, too, took to the air. Having been caught well off-guard, Ginger staggered behind the group as they flew out.


	6. Chapter 5: Training Turmoils

"Ready and rearing for training, General Ma'am!" Vaygar announced as the young Tytos lined up before her, Ginger having unfortunately found herself standing next to Kludd.

"Excellent. Now, before we begin, I would like to remind all of you, should the need be, that young Ms. Wingren has only just started training with us, and I will not tolerate any of you ridiculing her novice skills. Understood?"

"Loud and clear, General Ma'am," the Grass Owl nodded.

"Wouldn't dream of it, General Ma'am," Uklah chimed in.

"Understood, General Ma'am," Phillip breathed.

"Yes, General Ma'am," Kludd answered flatly. Nyra gave him a strange look as she scanned over him

"And furthermore, once she really gets down to business, you best all watch your tail feathers for her; she shows exceptional flying skills for one her age. Who knows? Maybe as good as you, Vaygar, if not better," she teased.

"Time will tell, General Ma'am," he answered.

"How old is she, exactly?" Phillip inquired curiously.

"Everyone, announce your ages. Including you, Ms. Wingren," she ordered them in response to the question. "That'll make things quick."

Uklah, Phillip, Vaygar, Kludd and Ginger all answered in order from left to right.

"Eleven."

"Twelve..."

"Also twelve."

"Thirteen."

"Uh...Same as Uklah..."

"Good. That's settled. See, she may be a tad younger than most of you, but she is just as apt as any other young owl. Now, first order of the night is that you all assemble in the target range, and you know what to do once you get there. I need tend to business concerning the Academy in the Canyonlands, so one of you will have to take over for me and demonstrate to Ginger how things work with that, am I clear?"

"Yes, General Ma'am," Uklah confirmed. "Erm...Which one of us is to be appointed?"

"You explain verbally, and Kludd will give a live demonstration."

"Understood, General Ma'am."

"I trust you'll all refrain from gleeking about during my brief absence," she told them all. "Ginger. Tell me when I return whether everyone was actually training or not. You're new, so I trust you."

"Uh-"

Before she could ask anything about it, Nyra had already turned tail and started flying out of the training grounds. The newcomer turned to face the two other Tyto Albas.

"So...I haven't been in this part of the training area yet," she explained. "She said so herself; just...show me the ropes, I guess."

"Gladly," Uklah grinned. "Now, you see those rows of red target marks painted on the wood slabs by the wall?"

"Those?"

She pointed with a wing at the supposed objects; they lined the wall, and formed columns extending behind the front ones.

"Those slabs are a bit weaker than they look. What we've gotta do is fly at them, then stretch out legs out and pounce on 'em. We gotta see how far they break through."

"We break them?"

"If you've been doin' it for long enough, you can get as good as Kludd. He can clear THREE of those from front to back in one strike. Kludd! Show 'er!"

"Oh...Well, with pleasure," he answered, suddenly seeming a lot more confident than he was the first time they'd met.

He spread his wings and charged at one of the columns of targets, seeming at first like he was going to ram into them head first. But just when he was about to bash his skull into the painted wood, he flung his open claws out, then smashed through to the other side of the target, and then through another, and one more behind it before stopping himself on the last one, pushing himself off and back onto the stony ground with a showy flip.

"Do I have to do the flip thing?"

"No, he's just showing off," Uklah teased him. "Give it a go with the column next to his. Speed up, claws open and legs stiff with you make contact. And don't stop yourself on the first one; you saw what he did there. Try to break through at least the first target and the one behind it. Got it?"

"I think so."

"Give it a shot, mate."

Ginger aligned herself with her target, stepped back away from it as far as she could, then ruffled her feathers and puffed a breath.

She spread her wings, began a dash towards the target and began to flap, lifting her flailing legs up off the ground before kicking them behind her. It wasn't long before she was flying full-force at the slab she intended to break.

Then, before she could collide with it headfirst, she swung her legs out and spread her talons, and her open feet met the wood.

There was a crash and a crack, and splinters flew about as she penetrated the first target, then braced for impact with the second. Another crash followed, and then, all of a sudden, the Barn Owl was stopped right in her wake, her entire body sprawling itself against the third obstacle.

She stretched her legs down to search for the ground, and when she finally felt her claws brush against stone, she pushed herself off to examine what she'd done. Two of the target slabs were behind her, and right in front of her was a third. It was cracked in the middle from the impact, and the mark branched out like a spider web, but it still held strong enough to keep itself from collapsing.

"So...Is that, like, two and a half?"

"Hey, you might not be able to read, but you can certainly count," Uklah answered. "That's two and a half alright; great for a newbie, if I ever saw it. In fact I can barely get past the first one without having my entire self crash, and I've been here for a good eight moons."

"What exactly is a 'moon'?"

"The time it takes for the moon to go from new, to full, to new again. There are twelve moons in a year."

"Oh. So, they're just months?"

"That's another word for them, yes."

"Ah...Okay."

"Alright, everyone! Do your business here so we can move on to the next regiment!" Uklah ordered.

She and the other two Tytos did the same to the other rows; Vaygar and Phillip displayed similar strength, with each of them successfully breaking through two of the targets, Vaygar almost breaking through the third, similar to what Ginger had accomplished. Phillip wasn't quite as robust as the Grass Owl, but his attempt was nothing to sneeze at.

Uklah, however, had been very right about her lack of physical strength; she broke through one, then collided with the second in an awkward manner. Kludd held in a snort of a laugh at her sorry attempt to look strong, but all Uklah responded to him with was a roll of the eyes.

"Alright, we're movin' on to the next course, Ging'. Can I call ya Ging'?" she asked the newcomer.

"Huh...I like it."

"Great! Now, let's go. Nyra said it herself; we show you the ropes."

* * *

_..._

* * *

"Well, here are the ropes!"

"Oh...You meant _actual_ ropes."

The five Tyto owls now stood before six long ropes hanging down from the ceiling, each of them made from strips of fox skins weaved together.

"So...What do we do with these?"

"We climb to the top."

"That's all?" Ginger made sure. "Sounds easy enough..."

"Don't get cocky; it's harder than it looks, trust me. The leather does give you a good grip, but your feet aren't holding you up on the ground. You're pulling yourself up with just your own strength; nothing to rest your feet on unless you give it up and fly back down to start again. First time I did this, I could barely pass getting up off the ground."

"Any tips?"

"Well, I don't suppose you've ever climbed trees, have you?"

"No. Just branched in them."

"Well, here's a piece of advice; you don't just use your talons, you use your beak. Keeps you from fallin' backwards. Just go from side to side to balance things out as you go up. Grip to the left, then to the right, and try to keep your beak grabs in sync with your claws. Got all that?"

"I think so."

"Let's see what you can do. Kludd, give us a quick demonstration here, why don't you?"

He nodded, a smirk across his beak, then approached one of the ropes, grabbed the bottom of it, tugged on it to test its strength, then pushed himself off the ground with his free set of talons and quickly grabbed the rope beneath his first grip, grunting a bit as he opened his beak and bit it around the leather. Using the same technique Uklah had described, he began to scale the rope, rising higher and higher until the top of his head nearly reached the very top. And when once it was just inches away from hitting the stone roof, Kludd pushed himself off, spreading his wings and spiraling down around the rope until he neared the ground, opening his talons and landing with all the poise and grace of a swan. Ginger nodded and whistled at the sight of it, impressed. Kludd might be odd, but he was definitely good at what he did.

"Alright, we're up. Let's go!" Uklah called to her, already making her way to the ropes.

Ginger made the same approach as Kludd; grabbing and tugging the end of the rope to make sure it was secure(why it wouldn't be was a mystery to her, but she figured that she might as well check) and when she found that it was, she hopped a bit on the foot still on the ground to find a good place to put it to give herself a strong enough boost.

When she found the right place and position, she bent that leg some, then sprang up into a jump, swinging her foot up and grabbing hold of the rope just above the first. She leaned backward, threatening to fall back onto the floor, but managed to jerk herself forward in time to prevent the collision and bit into the rope with an open beak.

I did it!

She watched as the other owls climbed up the ropes.

...Now what do I do?

She was a bit wary of removing either of her feet, fearing that the other one might end up taking on too much weight and collapsing, causing her to fall. She looked around at the other Tytos again; they were all doing just that, placing one foot above the other and moving their heads from side to side to ascend the ropes. Ginger rolled her eyes at herself. If they could do it so easily, who was to say she couldn't?!

She loosened the grip on her left foot and tightened the right one, balancing the weight out. Then, as swiftly as she could, released the grip and moved it up over the tighter-holding talons, while at the same time letting her beak go, tilting her head the opposite direction and grabbing hold of it again, eyes shut tightly.

No crash followed, so she pried them open to see how she'd fared, and to her delight, she'd done it.

So, eyes wide open this time, she KEPT doing it.

The young Barn Owl rose higher and higher, and all the while she found herself climbing up faster and faster. This wasn't so hard, after all! So, knowing that she had it down pact, she kept going up, and up, and up, until...

"Ack!"

She hit her head on something, and looked up to see just what it was.

_Oh, not again..._

Just like with her first private training course with the Ablah General, she'd failed to note just how high she'd risen, and conked her head on the stone ceiling.

"You alright?" Phillip asked, having witnessed the scene.

"Yeah, fine...Ugh. I need to look up more often."

"Well, that's all said and done," Uklah remarked as she caught up with the other owls to the top. "Now just push off, spread your wings and glide down!"

She let go first, spiraling slowly down to the stony earth again, port wing tilted toward the rope. Ginger and the others followed suit, and once they'd all planted their talons on solid ground again, Vaygar gave his input on the newbie's progress.

"Gotta say, I wasn't expecting this much from someone so new. What's your secret, eh?"

"Well, it's...not much of a secret. When I was younger, I watched my parents fly in and out of the hollow all the time, and I was able to pick up some of what they did in the air. Practiced a lot with my wings and tail, even before I'd fully fledged. And when I did, I was able to incorporate what I'd taught myself into my First Branching Ceremony. With what I pulled off that day, it might as well have also been First Flight; spun an upward spiral around our spruce tree when everyone was least expecting it."

"You _did?_" Uklah marveled. The reason behind her premature skills was plausible, but no less incredible.

"Impressive," Kludd acknowledged, nodding.

"Still rough around the edges, though," Ginger admitted. "It's, ah...hard to get in over my head when I hit it on the ceiling so much."

"Ha!" Vaygar burst out. "Well, you'll get there. Hey, if you're lucky, maybe someday, you'll even be qualified to lead a whole squadron of owls, like myself."

Ginger nodded and grinned, but the moment didn't last long; she and the Grass Owl realized how quiet it'd suddenly become, and they looked away from each other to find all the other trainees staring at him skeptically.

"...Leader?" Uklah repeated not sure if she'd heard Vaygar right. "What makes you think your our quote-unquote 'leader'?"

"Well, I speak for the group, don't I? Besides, if it weren't for me during night flight practice, you'd all get lost, which is why Nyra always makes ME the lead owl in formation. Clearly, I'm at the top of the pile."

"And you think that makes you our 'leader,' does it?" Kludd challenged. "Give me a break; you wouldn't know how to lead if you read all about it."

"I've read into it," Uklah mused. "Hey, maybe I should take on the position."

"Says the owl who can barely break through one target," the rusty owl retorted, to which she was clearly offended.

"Well, at least I've half a brain to take it on, unlike SOME birds. What make you think you're so high and mighty?"

"Because I am!" he claimed. "_I'm_ the oldest. _I'm_ the strongest, and _I'm_ the best on the field. You're all just too proud to admit to it, I think."

"Look who's talking," Vaygar snapped back.

"Ah...What about me?" Phillip chimed in, a bit hesitantly, though. The three looked at him.

"_You?_ The _caboose? Leader?_" Kludd awed, not sure if he could imagine such a thing. "What have you got to consider yourself qualified?"

"...Common sense?"

"Can we drop this?" Ginger finally asked them. "I don't think this is necessary right now."

They all turned to face her; Vaygar squinted at her, almost curiously, Uklah simply cocked her head in anticipation, Phillip's gaze grew wider, and Kludd's bright, fiery amber eyes narrowed at her.

"So..." he drawled. "You think YOU'VE a place to tell us what to do, now?"

"N-no, I just-"

"HA! Come ON; you've barely been here for a day, and you think YOU can LEAD us? That's yoiks! Stark-raving yoiks!"

His sneery voice hardened into a very amused, hearty laugh. Now it was Ginger's turn to glare at him.

"You know what? Why not? Nyra said it herself; I've got just as much potential as any of you. Might I be the new gal here? Maybe so, but that doesn't mean with a little more practice I can blow you all away to the backlines. ESPECIALLY you, Kludd. Afraid to lose face to me, eh? What if I justified those fears?" she mocked him.

THAT shut him up, and Kludd realized his terrible mistake.

"...And here I thought you weren't getting in over your head," Vaygar joked.

"Oh, like you're one to talk, Mr. 'Leader Buff!'"

"At least the rest of us can READ!" Kludd pointed out.

"Kludd, I'll slap you in your sleep for that!" Uklah scolded.

"This is going too far, owls," Phillip told them all, finally deciding to enter the ring. "If her Pureness hears-"

"If Nyra hears what we've been discussing, she'll know JUST how to solve it," Kludd interrupted him, pointing a talon at himself.

"Alright, that's it, no more Mr. Nice-"

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?"

The sudden outburst ceased all quarreling instantly, and all five young Tytos turned their gaze to where the voice came from. Phillip's warning had seen itself through; Nyra stood there, stretched tall and looking daggers at all of them. They wilfed at the sight of her; frinking off the Ablah General, even by accident, was always a bad thing to do.

But once she had everyone's full attention, she eased herself, though still looking cross.

"Might I ask just what this is all about?"

Ginger and Uklah exchanged nervous glances. This was definitely an embarrassing situation, and they both now realized how stupid and childish the argument really was.

Finally, Vaygar put his ego aside and answered her.

"Well, to put it simply, I said something that sparked a bit of debate amongst us."

"Concerning?"

"Ah..." he hesitated. "...Authority."

"Vaygar referred to himself as the group leader, and from there, we all challenged him," Uklah said for him, earning a distasteful look from the Grass Owl.

"Well, that's bold of you to assume, Tyto," Nyra scolded him. "I don't recall giving any announcement about it."

"Well, your Pureness, since you had me speak and lead formation for us-"

"Assume, yes. Note the first syllable. Anyone who 'assumes' something without merit _is_ that first syllable."

Kludd caught on, and snorted in order to keep from laughing.

"Wipe that smug grin off your face, Kludd."

He immediately turned down the corners of his smile.

"Young Ginger. Did you take any part in this squabble?"

She lowered her head.

"...Yes, your Pureness."

"Don't be too cross at her, your Pureness," Uklah defended her. "She was only trying to break up-"

"Did I ask for you to speak, soldier?"

"...No, General Ma'am."

"Thank you. I must admit, I anticipated this to happen eventually. And now that it has, unless I do something about it, it will no doubt happen again...I'll have you all know, I've actually been considering putting one of you at the head of the squadron. It was the matter of deciding who, though, that I became stuck on. You all have vastly differing strengths and weaknesses, and having acknowledged the competition amongst you all, I believe now that I may have a potential way to decide on this."

"What have you decided, General Ma'am?" Vaygar asked her.

"Starting now, I will put you all through a series of trials, each testing your signature skills. The owl who gains the most victories, shows the greatest potential, and shows off the most well-rounded skills needed in order to effectively lead, will be made the head of the trainee squadron, possessing authority over you only lower than my own. All of the most important aspects will be brought to the table; speed, agility, strength, intellect, common knowledge, and given skills."

"Starting now?" Phillip affirmed.

"Yes. Now. Effective immediately. Formation, owls!"

The four Tytos formed a rhombus of themselves, Vaygar in the front, Uklah to the port, Kludd to the starboard and Phillip in the back.

"You. Ms. Wingren. Center."

"O-oh," she stammered, trotting to the center of the formation.

"Wings out!"

They all spread their wings, Ginger faltering behind somewhat.

"Takeoff!"

Nyra was already in the air, leading the five owls to yet another portion of the palace of the Beaks. Ginger staggered as she took off dryly, almost falling out of her position behind everyone else. Finally, she straightened herself out. Nobody said anything; they all just followed after the Ablah General.

Ginger sighed. This was going to be a long night.


	7. Chapter 6: Round 1: Strength

"Alright, Tytos! Here's the first trial. We'll be testing your brute strength. I assume this activity looks familiar?"

"Aren't these striking targets like the ones from the other training grounds?" Ginger asked, looking over the rows of wooden slabs painted with targets. The wood surfaces were larger here, though, and the targets painted a darker red.

"Yes, they are. However, these are the STANDARD training targets, used by fulltime soldiers. They're thicker and stronger than the ones in the youth training grounds, so if you want to break through them, you'll have to put just a bit more 'umph' into it that what you might be used to. Now, who's first?"

They all exchanged glances, and then, finally, Kludd gave Phillip a subtle shove with his wing, his reaction to which was to step forward some.

"Ah, I see we have a volunteer," Nyra interpreted of the Sooty Owl.

"Oh, wh-Me? I-I beg your-"

"Just do the same as what you normally do, Phillip," she instructed him, not taking no for an answer. "And give it everything you've got. I want to see some destruction here."

He sighed, then stretched his wings and began running at the target slab. When he came within just five feet of the mark, he jumped up off the ground, flapped forward and let his talons open and smash into the wood. The first obstacle in the column was quickly broken through, and Phillip kept his legs outstretched for the next one. Then, there was a crack, but not a crash. Phillip pushed himself back onto the ground; if he'd attacked just a tad bit harder, he might have gotten through it.

"Not bad, soldier, not bad," Nyra graded as he got back in line. "Especially considering the durability of the wood here. But don't be surprised if you get topped. Who's next?"

"Erm...Permission to go?" Uklah requested. She knew she was going to fail horribly at this, so she figured she might as well get it out of the way.

"Uklah, yes, step forward."

"Alright..." the young owl huffed, shaking her entire form and spreading out each and every feather. Then she backed away from her target, pushed off the ground and began flying straight away. She wanted to have enough momentum to at LEAST make a mark.

Finally, Uklah drew near, and she extended her talons just a split second before she collided with the bullseye.

Completely.

The next thing she knew, she was on the ground, wings stretched and a sore pain coursing throughout her lower half. Expecting the worse, Uklah looked up at the damage she'd been able to cause; there were two holes in the slab where her talons had been able to smash through, and crack lines webbed out from the points of impact...She had actually been expecting less than that, seeing how strong the wood was here. But it was still definitely nothing to write home about.

"I won't lie; I saw that coming," the Ablah General remarked as Uklah returned to her position. "Uklah, you've been training with us longer than Kludd, yet you've still barely improved at all in the strength department. I'm starting to think this has more to do with genes and less to do with effort. Perhaps, for when I assign all of you your helms and claws, I should arm you with ankle blades instead of battleclaws; I think those would suit you far better, don't you agree?"

"Ankle blades, your Pureness?" she repeated.

"Like swords, you might say, fastened onto the feet by a leather sock similar to battleclaws. They cut quite cleanly, too, might I add; you might enjoy using them."

"That sounds...promising, your Pureness."

"Alright, next up, how about you, Kludd? You can pack quite the punch, no?"

"That I can, your Pureness," he confirmed.

"Well, then, how about we put that to the test?" she smirked, leading him over with an assuring wing on his back. "Go straight for the target and don't hold anything back."

The young buff backed right into the wall across from his target and vigorously shook himself before the attack, rearing and ready to strike. Then with one powerful sweep, he lifted himself off the ground and began flying at the crimson bullseye at full force. He turned out to be a surprisingly noisy flyer, even for an owl, but his impressive speed and power served as reparation for this.

When he extended his huge claws, the two loud crashes that followed were a sure indicator that he'd made his mark a prominent one. Another loud crack followed, and when everything was said and done. Kludd had broken through a good two of the target slabs, and the third one in the column was almost ready to fall apart on its own, it was so badly splintered.

However, Kludd scowled at the sight of his work. Maybe he'd been aiming to get through three of them, only to just barely fail the mark. One thing was for sure, though; he'd really put all of his effort into this one. He normally got similar results with the trainee boards.

"Excellent, Kludd!" Nyra praised him as he slumped back into his position. "I'd like to see the other two participants top that!"

"Could have been three," he scolded himself.

"I dunno. I thought it was pretty good," Ginger added to complement Nyra's high grade.

"...You think so?" he asked her, not sure if he'd heard right.

"Well, yeah. If you can do that, I'd be scared to see what you could do to a beaver."

"...Well...I suppose I do have a knack for this line of business," he smirked, flexing his talons some, now feeling a lot more satisfied with himself.

"Well, since you find this an interesting discussion topic, young Ginger, perhaps you'd like to be the next in line?"

"Oh...Yes, your Pureness."

"Now, you saw how Kludd handled that last one; try to do what he did and shift into power flight. Since you're going right into level flight, it should be easy enough. Got it?"

"I think so."

"Well, then, let's see just what you're made of, newcomer."

Ginger nodded, then backed away from the row of wooden slabs until she was nearly up against the wall. She opened her wings in preparation, but instead of flapping right away, she instead opted to run along the ground for a few meters before pushing off and letting actual flight commence. She flapped harder once she was airborne, and her flight grew louder, and faster, and more powerful. Then, she drew near the crimson target, and out came her talons.

There was one breakthrough, and the owlet had to shield her eyes to keep from being blinded by the scattering splinters. Then, there came the second, and she withdrew her left leg to put all of the force of the impact right into the center of the target. This time, the wood split more evenly as she barreled through it. However, she failed to realize how much her foot now stung until it met the third.

And when it did, Ginger was stopped dead in her tracks. Her knee gave in, and her other foot steadied her collision, along with the wings that she had now folded back and pointed forward to brace herself. Her impact with the third slab was not what one would call graceful, but definitely made for a lighter crash, and she was able to push herself back onto the ground right away, limping back to the line.

"Risky move there, Tyto," Nyra reprimanded lightly. "Do yourself a favor and don't resort to using just one foot again until you've strengthened some more. In fact, I'd rather none of you try it until further notice; broken bones are a pain to deal with around here. Quite literally...That goes for you too, Kludd, understood?"

"Yes, your Pureness," he answered.

"However, young Ginger, you did do a decent enough job for one so new to the force. Alright, Vaygar, you're up."

Vaygar was the last to go, and his results were roughly the same as Ginger's, if not slightly stronger. Kludd had everyone beat in this department, however.

"Alright. That wraps up the first event," Nyra announced, having retrieved a piece of parchment and a quill from another section of the training arena. She wrote on it, tallying up the owlets' scores thus far, corresponding with the number of owls and their performance.

-**_Kludd: 5  
-Vaygar: 4  
-Ginger: 3  
-Phillip: 2  
-Uklah: 1  
_**

So, Kludd had the lead for now. But this was only the first event, so the Ablah General kept in mind that his rank might very well change.

"First round's complete, soldiers, back into flight formation! For the next regiment, we'll be taking this outside."

They all obeyed, and Ginger whispered to the other leia of the group.

"What's it like outside?"

"Rock spires are scattered all across the landscape; that's how this Kingdom got its name, because they look almost like giant stone beaks poking up out of the ground. Not much greenery 'round here, but on a night like tonight when it's clear, you get the absolute best view of the stars. You have to see it."

"Well, it looks like we're about to, anyway," she responded.

"Alright, owlets! Takeoff!"


	8. Chapter 7: Round 2: Wayfinding

"What'd I tell you?"

"I believed you, but...This..."

It was like something out of a dream; so abstract and mystic, yet shrouded in a beauty like none other. The stars came in billions, and the inky blue sky stretched out over the rocky landscape, only stopping at each horizon. Right above the flock of owls, cloudy streaks of purple Milky Way ran across the dark background, adding even more surreal beauty to the already otherworldly sight.

"Approaching the Half Spire, Tytos," Nyra alerted them. "Prepare for landing."

She stooped her starboard wing down, and the others followed suit. The somewhat jagged flat surface of what was now a small plateau drew closer as the Tytos spiraled down towards it. Once upon a very long time ago, the Half Spire was just like most of the other stone pillars brushing the skies in this rocky landscape, but eons of wind and water had burdened it too much, and the top half of it had long since fallen and crumbled away to join the rest of the earth.

Finally, the small band of Pure Ones landed, and now that they hadn't any concern of looking where they were flying, they could admire the spectacle as much as they pleased.

"Nice night for a bit of stargazing, no?" Nyra agreed with their thoughts. "But I'm afraid the pleasure of doing it will have to wait. This is all part of the test, and now that we're all here, it's time for the second trial: wayfinding skills. The stars aren't just pretty to look at, you know. There are certain celestial bodies and constellations that point in certain directions across the earth, and knowing which ones point where is crucial to navigation. Yes, we owls can also sense the earth's magnitude itself with our own gizzards, but it is the stars above that are the most reliable tool we can use for wayfinding. Now, to begin...Who here is able to locate the Little Raccoon? It's quite prominent this time of year."

The Little Raccoon? Ginger hadn't ever heard of THAT constellation. But she wasn't about to give up out of only ignorance, so she began searching for a shape in the sky that at least resembled a raccoon to some extent. She might just get lucky and be the first one to-

"Well, that's it right there, just to the east of the zenith point."

Vaygar had been the first one to point it out.

"Excellent. And if you were to follow in its direction, at least during this time of year, which way would you be going?"

"North-north-east," he finished. "Now, if you wanted to go straight north, then-"

"Alright, Vaygar, that'll do. Don't want to give it all away right off the bat, do we?"

"No, your Pureness. We don't," he deflated. Ginger raised a wing.

"Permission to speak, Ginger."

"Uh, to finish what he was about to say, wouldn't you have to follow the North Star?"

"Correct, soldier...But what if you wanted to go south?" she challenged.

"Uh...Well..." she guessed. "Wouldn't you just...fly away from it?"

"You'd follow the Southern Cross, is what you'd do."

"Well done, Vaygar. Now, where lies the Big Raccoon?"

"Right in there," Uklah, pointed out. "Just in between the Sea Serpent and the Golden Talons."

"Nice work. Now, if you wanted to keep west, until you reached the Canyonlands, or even, say, the Beyond, which constellation would you follow after?"

"Well, that's an easy one," Phillip remarked. "Lupus. And no matter the time of year, he always points to where he's from."

"Yes, that's absolutely right, Phillip. Now, here's a kicker...Say we were to assemble on Cape Glaux en masse to get to the Ga'Hoole Tree. Which stars would we have to stay in between in order to keep the course?"

"The tip of the Whale's fin and the Eye of Glaux," Kludd answered, seemingly intrigued by the idea Nyra had proposed.

"Ah, so you HAVE been doing your homework on this, have you, Kludd?" she remarked. "Alright, then, allow me to make things more interesting. Say you wanted to get not to the Great Tree, but to the Northern Kingdoms. Which PART of which constellation will guide you there?"

"Well...The North Star is part of Great Ursa, so...Erm...His paws?" Phillip guessed.

"Hmm...That would take you too far east, but you were close."

"His Head!" Uklah guessed.

"That's it, right there," the Ablah General called out. "That's take you right up on through the Ice Narrows and into the Everwinter Sea. Now...Say it's daytime, and there are no stars to guide you. How would you be able to tell which way was which, then?"

Ginger thought for a moment, and then a light switched on in her head.

"The sun, your Pureness!" she responded. "It rises in the east and sets in the west, so depending on it being closer to sunrise or sunset, you'd be able to determine east from west easily."

"Not bad observation, owlet," she praised. "However, let's say, in this scenario, that it's high noon, and time is of the essence, in your mission. You've only about half an hour to spare to decide which way you should go, and it could be a matter of life and death. How do you determine your direction in such little time?"

"Uh..."

"Wait, wait, I know this one!" Vaygar announced. "At high noon, you point a stick up at the zenith, then you keep track of which way the shadow starts to head in as the sun _ever so slowly_ travels across the sky. Whichever direction the shadow goes in is east, as the sun will have started inching more westward."

"Wow...I'm impressed that even you know this, Vaygar," the white owl marveled. "I don't believe any sky maps or star charts would have given you that information. Where did you learn this, young Tyto?"

"Survival handbook; found it open on a desk in the library 'bout a moon ago, so I decided to skim through it."

"Hmm...So THAT'S who lost my page," Uklah noted. "Didn't you consider that someone might have been reading it?"

"Haven't you ever heard of a bookmark?" he retorted.

"Alright, young owlets, that will do," Nyra told them. "Now, that's all said and done. I'll allow a half hour break before we resume."

She left the group of trainee owls to their own business, unfurling the scroll of parchment on her talons again, letting the quill fall out and adding onto the scoreboard.

-**_Kludd: 6  
-Vaygar: 9  
-Ginger: 7  
-Phillip: 4  
-Uklah: 4_**

Vaygar had stolen the lead from Kludd, and Phillip and Uklah were tied for last. Nyra didn't show it, but she was actually finding what she thought'd be a tedious task with a lot of arguing going on in the end quite entertaining. Hagsmire, the young owls didn't even know she was keeping score, probably. Oh, the moment they found out she had been...Their reactions to such would be absolutely priceless.

She churred softly, moseying over to the opposite side of the Half Spire from where the group was situated to let them get along without her 'dominant presence.'

"So, Vaygar," Ginger addressed. "Are you, like, into this sort of stuff with the stars and constellations?"

"'Into it'?"

"You know, is it your thing?"

"Oh. I guess you could say that," he answered. "They're almost as bright in Shadow Forest as they are here."

"Where's that?"

"To the far west; borders the Beyond."

"And what's the Beyond like?"

"Well, the entrance to there from the Owl Kingdoms is pretty desolate. It's Dire Wolf territory, and the Sacred Watch guards the Ember of Hoole in the volcanoes."

"The 'Ember of Hoole'? What's that?"

"It's a long story. Legends and things. You'd have to ask Uklah."

So, she turned to the other leia, who'd been standing by listening to them.

"I'd have to teach you to read," she answered her. "Then you'd be able to read the legends for yourself. In a nutshell, the Ember of Hoole is extremely powerful, but if it falls into the wrong talons, it can spell doom for all owlkind."

Ginger whistled in awe.

"Even the ones on the mainland?"

"Potentially."

Her eyes widened at the thought.

"So, some of these constellations you guys were talking about," she continued. "I've, uh...actually never heard of them. Like, who's Glaux?"

Saying this, she got the attention of all four of them.

"...You don't know who Glaux is," Kludd said flatly.

"She's from the outide, Kludd, you don't know what they teach over there," Uklah reprimanded before answering Ginger's question. "Why, He was the first owl, he was. Gave birth to the entire owl race from just two eggs he crafted from nothing but dust. And now, He watches over us from the stars."

"Really?"

"Well," Kludd chimed in. "That's what the Sacred Glauxian Texts say. Personally, I'm skeptic, but, like, whatever...I guess He's cool."

"Egh. He never believes anything unless he sees it for himself," the leia remarked, rolling her sea green eyes. "So, we still on for my hollow after this?"

"Oh, yeah. The sooner I can read, the better."

They both chortled.

"Heh...So...Tell me. How bright are the night skies out where you come from?"

"Not anywhere like this. Too much light pollution coming from the city area."

"So, there are humans near where you live?"

"You can see the buildings in the distance from my old hollow opening."

"Ever see a human in real life? None live anywhere near here, so I'm curious as to how dangerous they actually are."

"Just this...one time, we saw one stand at the base of our tree and stare up at us. 'Birdwatching,' my dad said he was doing. I don't think he meant any harm to us, but my mother ended up hissing down at him to see if he'd go away."

"Why don't you invite him up for tea and cakes the next time you see 'im?" Vaygar teased.

"Splendid idea, Vaygar," she drawled. "I suppose we should waltz around the city streets while we're at it and strike up a conversation with every passerby."

Now all five of them were guffawing, and they each thought up their own ridiculous situation with owls interacting with humans in ways that owl should NEVER interact with humans, just for the humor of it. They were having such a grand time, they didn't realize how much time had passed until Nyra called them back into training.

"That's enough chitchat, young owls, back to the events!"

Once they'd exhausted themselves of laughs, they reassembled and took off after the Ablah General back to the Pure One palace.


	9. Chapter 8: Round 3: Tracking

"Alright, owlets, pay close attention. In this trial, I'll be testing your tracking abilities. This should be interesting..."

"What are we to be tracking down, your Pureness?" Phillip inquired.

"Why, you'll be pursuing me, young Tytos. What I will do is flee the training grounds for another section of the palace, and through the various pieces of...'evidence' I will leave scattered around my wake, you'll have to locate me. Whoever gets to me first will be the victor."

"So, is this, like, some extreme version of hide-and-seek?" Ginger likened.

"Yes, yes, in a way...Now, if you'll excuse me, before we begin, I feel the urge to yarp. I'll be with you all in a moment."

Nyra exited the training grounds' main hollow again to tend to her business, and during her absence, the trainees talked among themselves.

"What kinds of clues do you think she'll leave?" Ginger wondered aloud.

"I'm thinking feathers..." Uklah surmised. "...But just those might make it too obvious. She might try other things."

"Like what?"

"We'd have to see to find out, I suppose," Phillip responded. "But one thing's for sure, we all know who's _not_ going to win this."

They all eyed the rusty brown buff with the feathery fauxhawk, who raised his own eyes at this insinuation.

"Oh, shut your beaks," Kludd grimaced. "At least I've more muscle than all four of you combined."

"Really, do you?" Ginger challenged him again. "If I remember correctly, Vaygar and I didn't fall too far behind you in that regiment."

The owl opened his beak to defend himself, but nothing came out. Ginger did have a point, he realized, so he looked away from her and shut his mouth, silently acknowledging her upper hand in this argument.

"Hm..." Vaygar hummed to himself. "...I could be wrong, but I don't think it takes this long to yarp a pellet."

"Yarpie-barpies, maybe?" Uklah guessed.

"Wait," Phillip interrupted everyone, his brown eyes growing wider with realization. "...You don't think she-"

Ginger was the first to make a mad dash for the exit when she caught on to Phillip's theory, and she stumbled out of the hollow to look for traces of the Ablah General.

There on the ground, not far to the left of the entrance to the training grounds, was an owl's pellet. And just above was another cave opening, leading through a tunnel and into another portion of the palace.

"This way..."

The hushed whisper came not from her, but from Phillip, and he'd already taken to the air before Ginger could even think to spread her wings. But once she realized what was happening, she did just that, and followed after him. She'd seen it first, and she wasn't going to let her chance at victory be stolen quite so easily.

_Stolen victory..._

Her gizzard panged lightly, and that small sensation seemed to point right in the Sooty Owl's direction. This was the right way to go, she realized. That 'gizzuition' thing that the Ablah General had told her about was beginning to take form.

And that was when an idea popped into her head, and what a malicious idea it was. She would follow Phillip on the sly and see if she could nab her victory before he could.

_Genius...!_ she said to herself.

Phillip continued through the tunnel, and soon came into a great open area of the palace. He landed on the ground, in search of more fresh evidence, and Ginger came in for a landing herself and peered around the curve of the tunnel to study him. He didn't seem to be aware of her, so she crept further out into the open to watch him more closely, careful to not let the tips of her claws clack against the stone floor, lest she be heard.

She saw his gaze lock onto something, and she followed after him as he escaped her view from the tunnel to the right, and she saw what he'd discovered. Right there on the ground in front of him sat a white covert feather, tipped with scarlet.

The young Sooty Owl spread his wings again and took off in that direction, and his follower did the same, still being especially mindful of her volume and position; if she fell too far behind, she might lose her chance to seize his win, and even lose his position altogether, and if she got too close, she would be spotted, and her stealth mission would be jeopardized.

Especially now; Phillip seemed a lot more alert than before, indicating that he knew he wasn't alone. She wasn't the only one here with a sharp gizzard.

Ginger looked behind her; no other owls coming up yet. Maybe they'd gone off somewhere else in fear that just following the two of them would lead to a dead end, so they'd opted to split up. That was good for her, for certain. She only had to worry about Phillip and herself.

He kept scanning the area, Ginger tailing far behind, flying just a tad faster whenever he turned a corner, only to come sneaking slowly up from behind to keep herself well hidden. The one she was following came across yet another feather. The quill was red and wet with blood, indicating that it had been plucked prematurely instead of shed, and beside it was a fresh slash mark of claws in the stone. He slowed his flight and planted his feet on the ground. He was extremely close.

"Alright, General Ma'am," he whispered to himself. "Where are you...?"

Presently, Ginger felt the sudden urge to clear her throat, and strained to keep quiet...But then she had another idea.

_What if I catch him off guard...and then follow Nyra's trail while he's dazed?_

It was worth trying. So, she allowed herself to grunt out a deep "_ahem,_" and she heard the Sooty Owl's talons begin to clack closer.

And then, just when he was upon her...

"General Ma'am?"

She sprang out in front of the owl and let out a shrill screech, just inches from his face.

Phillip suddenly began to panic, and staggered backwards, looking about ready to faint.

Ginger saw her chance, and took the opportunity to look about the claw marks and feather for the Ablah General. There were two stone hollows adjacent from each other on either side of the evidence, and while Phillip was hiding his head in his wings, she slowed her breathing and listened closely for a sound; a breath, a heartbeat, anything. Her ears could pick up a rabbit's heartbeat from at least thirty feet above ground, so they could hear another owl's if it was within close proximity.

Then, she heard it, coming from the hollow on the right; shallow breathing. She was in there.

"No," another voice came. "No, no, no, please no!"

Phillip was stumbling forward trying to catch up with her, wing over his chest. She was almost tempted to be _that_ owl and run into the hollow to win instantly, but there was something...odd in his gaze. Some sort of strange fear. Something like a jumpscare shouldn't cause something like that. Something was wrong.

"...You know what?" she said to him. "Let's...go in together, alright?"

"Together...That's..."

His knees looked weak, and she propped him up with a wing as she lead him into the hollow. There, just inside the entrance, stood the Ablah General.

"Well, I never expected any of these to end in a tie," she remarked. "Might I ask what all the commotion out there was?"

"The screeches..." Phillip rasped. "So much blood..."

"Oh, dear me...Another one of those, eh?"

"What's a 'those'?" Ginger inquired, now concerned.

"Allow me to explain," Nyra told her. "Phillip, it'd be wise for you to bed down about now."

He gave a weak nod, then folded his legs to roost on the ground for a moment. And once he was down, the Ablah General explained everything to her.

"Phillip hails from the oasis of the Mirror Lakes, found in the center of the Kingdom of the Beaks. Some say that the waters are as cursed as they are beautiful; take one look at yourself in that perfectly flat reflection in the water and you'll instantly be enamored with it. And once that happens, it is not so easy to pull yourself away. It happened just under a year ago. Phillip's hollow was raided by a band of rogue owls wandering the oasis, looking for new recruits, we surmised. When they declined and tried to escort them out of the hollow, they lashed out."

"Screams...filled the air," Phillip remembered. "Blood all over everything...Da was...gutted. Snowy Owl...did him in. He was in pain...so much pain."

"Was this all because I screamed?"

"It usually takes a good scare for Phillip to experience anything like this," Nyra informed her. "I don't suppose you knew anything like this would come out of what was likely nothing more than a strategic implement...So, tell me, Ginger. How exactly did all of this go down?"

"Uh...You should probably just give Phillip the win here," she replied. "All I did was follow after him so I could nab the win."

"Hmm..."

Nyra pondered this explanation for a moment, a smile slowly inching its way across her beak.

"Despite the disturbance, I must say, young owl, I'm impressed. Pursuing an owl on the sly to take advantage of the situation is not a commonly employed tactic among the lesser-experienced Pure Ones. How long did you manage to evade detection?"

"Just when..." Phillip gasped, regaining his senses again. "Just when she popped out from behind the rock...Didn't know she was there until then."

"So...Since the start, then?"

"Yes, your Pureness," Ginger answered.

"Impressive, Tyto. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need alert the others that the competition is done with."

The Ablah General left the hollow, leaving Ginger and Phillip to themselves.

"So...Is your mother at least still alive?"

The Sooty Owl sighed.

"She is," he confirmed. "Works at the Academy in the Canyonlands as a pit guardian. She, uh...Has the same problem as me. Except...worse. She knew him longer than I did, so...it was harder on her, I think. I'm honestly glad I never had any siblings...then we might have lost two that day."

"You never had any siblings?"

"I consider myself lucky I never had any to lose...It's not a good mentality to have, I don't think, but..."

"Oh, in only you knew. I envy you, Phillip; I had a brother back in the states, and he's the one who drove me out of the hollow in the first place. He was crazy from day 1. No joke. Always talking, always griping, always getting into trouble...Be glad you didn't have to deal."

"Oh...Well...I have an...odd question for you, Ginger."

"What's that."

"If you ever got word that your brother died...How would you react?"

Ginger was silent. She thought about it for a few moments, hoping to give him a proper answer, but...

"I don't really know, Phillip. I...I guess I should be thankful myself that I didn't have to go through what you did."

"I suppose we both have a few things in common...Also, you don't need to apologize for what you did back there," Phillip told her, rising to his feet. "You didn't know."

"Well, now I do. And I'll be careful not to do that again."

"...Thanks for that."

"What are you two doin', flivving or something?"

The voice came from Kludd, who was now entering the hollow along with Vaygar, Uklah and Nyra.

"Wha-No," Phillip denied plainly.

"Like you're one to talk," Uklah reprimanded.

Kludd's mocking grin vanished in an instant, and he tensed.

"Shut your beak," he retorted.

"Should we do the chant, Uklah?" Vaygar offered.

"Hmm...Let's wait until it really gets juicy."

"I said SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU!"

"That's enough, soldier!" Nyra commanded. "I don't believe the owl who barely left the training grounds has any right to yell about now."

"Expect the unexpected, right?" he defended. "It'd have been genius to keep close to the place we thought you'd fled!"

"While I see your reason, you still failed horribly at this."

"I told you so," Phillip acknowledged.

"Oh, give it a blow, Phillip."

"I'll be devising the next trial. I suppose you can all hang around in here while I prepare it."

"Yes, your Pureness," Vaygar agreed.

The Ablah General exited the hollow, then unfurled her scroll again to jot down the scores.

-**_Kludd: 7  
-Vaygar: 11  
-Ginger: 11  
-Phillip: 9  
-Uklah: 7_**

Things were beginning to even out; the brain and the brawn were currently tied for last, but they were only two tallies behind Phillip, who was, in turn, only two behind Ginger and Vaygar in the lead. Ginger was doing surprisingly well so far; sure, the chance of her actually coming out on top was extremely improbable,(and unfavorable) seeing how new she was, but if this was what she was capable of already, then the future held a lot for her in terms of potential. Besides, Nyra wasn't about to disqualify her just for that reason; it simply wasn't appropriate.

Ginger definitely made the game more interesting, but she knew that this next trial would be Uklah's chance, out of anyone's, to climb the tower.


	10. Chapter 9: Round 4: Knowledge

"Alright, Tytos, back to business. You will all be pleased to know that this exercise will not be physically strenuous."

"Uklah must be happy," Kludd sneered.

"Although it will give your brains a bit of a workout."

His smug grin disappeared and found itself on said leia's face instead.

"You were saying?" she retorted.

"In this regiment, I will be testing your knowhow; almost like a...shall we say pop-quiz sort of thing. Now, the questions might seem trivial, but such knowledge has the potential to save lives, should you ever be caught in such a situation. Ready, owlets? Minds sharp? Attention focused?"

"Yes, your Pureness," Vaygar confirmed.

"Alright. To begin...You're flying low above a stretch of field; tall grass extends for miles. You hear something within the greenery that sounds like the flapping wings of another bird. Is there any chance at all that this could be another owl pursuing you?"

Ginger was about to very confidently answer 'no.' Owls had special fringes along their flight feathers that silenced their beating wings as they flew, so it couldn't possibly-

Her train of thought was cut off when she heard Uklah speak up.

"Yes; there is a chance," she answered, earning her a wide-eyed look from Ginger. "Elf and Pygmy Owls lack the combs on their wings that allow for silent flight."

"Absolutely correct, Uklah!" Nyra congratulated.

Ginger was amazed; she never wound have guessed.

"Alright, next up. It's the dead of winter. You're squadron is stranded and starving, and you volunteer to go out to fetch for a kill. You'll need to find something big to sustain all of you. Something like, shall we say...a beaver. But then you realize; it's the dead of winter, isn't it? Don't beavers hibernate?"

"No! They don't!"

This time, Ginger was far more confident in her answer. Her own parents had stated this, and on multiple occasions, brought beavers back during to make use of their massive amount of meat and conveniently warm pelts.

"I mean...they're not as out-and-about as they are in the warmer months, but they're still around," she continued.

"Ah, so you know that, do you, Ginger? Well, I'm impressed...Now, since you know for sure that they're still around, where should you go to find them?"

"They live around rivers and lakes, don't they?" she continued.

"Also correct. So, you stumble upon the lodge where they make their home, and there, swimming toward the shore of the frozen pond, lo and behold, you see one. Why don't you go right in for the kill?"

"Absolutely!"

"Absolutely not," the Ablah General corrected, and Ginger's excited smile fell.

"Why?"

"Does anybody else know?"

Phillip raised a wing, and the white owl called on him.

"Bad idea," he explained, sounding very grim. "Going into a kill dive over any body of water is a dangerous thing to do, let alone a freezing one in the middle of winter. You get your wings too wet and you'll end up stuck in the water. And if there's one thing I know from seeing failed attempts out on the lakes, it's that owls can't swim. And even if you do miraculously manage to reshore, you'll probably die of the hypothermia unless anyone's around to help. And that's not likely, during this time of the year. You'd have to wait until the prey gets to the shore, and then you go in for the kill."

"Splendid, Phillip. You really do know a thing or two about hunting...So, once it gets onto firm ground, you're free to approach for the kill. The thing with beavers, or any large prey for that matter, however, is that there's a certain way to go about it. How do you kill the beaver in a conveniently quick and painless manner?"

"Easy," Kludd answered. "You aim for the thing's back and break its spine. Dies instantly, and from behind it'll never see you comin'."

"Ahh, well put, soldier. I do believe your finally visiting the library."

He puffed his chest out.

"Alright. Different scenario," Nyra announced. "Say you've just run into a mob of crows in the middle of the day, and there isn't a soul around to help you. How do you handle this delicate situation?"

"I say you just fight them off," the young buff continued, sounding a bit arrogant. "Crows aren't that much trouble, are they?"

"True, their fighting methods are primitive, but crows often band into mobs of two dozen or greater, and it only takes eight to completely overpower a Barn Owl, like yourself. Alone, and against perhaps forty of them, you'd be torn to bits; a flock of crows is called a 'murder' for a reason, you know. Plus, if you fight, you may end up attracting more of them by mistake. Not the best way to go about it...So, does anybody else have a different idea?"

Kludd rolled his eyes; he could take on _fifty_ crows by himself if he wanted! As long as they didn't all come at once, that is...

"I think I've read about this one before," Uklah replied. "If a mob of crows attacks you, the first thing you should do is try to locate a shelter of some sort, be it a tree hollow, rock notch or even a small cave. Anywhere that's either dark or small enough to prevent a swarm. And once that's out of the way, you stay there and call for help until either someone passes by and hears you or the crows have all given up."

"That's what I'm looking for. Excellent, Uklah."

"Thank you, your Pureness."

"Now, a few more random questions. How long does an owl need to be exposed to the full moon before it is considered 'moonblinked'?"

"At least seven hours, right?" Vaygar estimated. "Granted the owl would have to be asleep and face fully exposed to it."

"Correct, indeed. And what of this one; if one follows the path through the hoolespyrrs over the Sea of Hoolemere instead of keeping between the Whale's fin and the Eye of Glaux, where will they end up, instead of the Ga'Hoole Tree?"

"That would lead to the Ice Narrows," Uklah responded.

"Quite right, young one. And speaking of the Great Tree, if, say it is winter, and the air masses from the north are descending, making Cape Glaux too risky a takeoff spot? In that case, what would be a more favorable place to get there from?"

"Broken Talon Point! Moving in from the south and following the winds of the Northern Kingdoms would not only make it easier for us, but also get us there quicker!"

"Right again. Now, something a bit more out there; far less probable, but more dire, I can tell you now. Say we hear word that the guardians are plotting to send someone to dive for the Ember of Hoole. Which volcano would have to be guarded?"

"Dunmore, right?" Vaygar answered.

"Correct, Vaygar. And the wolves. Which clan is currently watching over the Sacred Ring?"

"The MacDuffs," Phillip responded. "They usurped the MacDuncans after they abandoned the Ring, right?"

"Nicely done, Phillip. And now, the last question."

All five owls peered intently at the Ablah General.

"You're in the infirmary. A Tyto Alba lies there, plagued by a dangerous disease. His fever is worse that that of any bird flu. The pungent stench of liquid yarp is present, and there are painful open sores all over the owl's body, showing through bare spots that have formed in the plumage...What do you suppose it is.

Ginger's eyes widened. This sounded all to familiar.

"...Alba Pox," she beaked.

"Pardon me, what was that?"

"Abla Pox. I...My parents say I had it when I was a chick; too young to remember it myself, though. My mother said they worked day and night just to keep me alive."

"...You..."

Nyra was in awe; she had thought that Alba Pox was confined to the Hoolian Kingdoms, seeing just how rare it was. But this owl, from the mainland, claimed that she herself had once been plagued by the disease. And furthermore, she had lived to tell the tale.

"...You mean to tell me that you had Alba Pox? As an owlet?"

"That's what my mother said," she answered. "And I don't think she'd have lied about something like that."

The other four owlets were staring at her just as wide-eyed as the Ablah General. Kludd nodded to mask his mild confusion(probably having never even heard of Alba Pox to begin with, knowing him)Vaygar was significantly impressed, Phillip's beak hung open in utter disbelief, and Uklah just looked...

Haunted, to say the least. But for what reason, Ginger couldn't begin to imagine.

"Well...This certainly comes as...a surprise," Nyra remarked. "Ah...So, tell me, owlet. Are the rumors about the disease true?"

"Which rumors?"

"That if an owl were to battle and defeat the disease that it alters the immune system, making it practically impenetrable to any and every pathogen?"

"Erm..."

"In other words, young one...you can't get sick?"

"Oh. Um...Well...Yeah, I think that's true."

"You've not fallen ill at all since then?"

"I can't remember a time I was."

Silence shrouded the hollow again. But only briefly; Nyra broke the dead quiet with her announcement.

"Well, I suppose that wraps up this competition. I'll give you all a few more minutes to break before the finals. As for you, Ms. Wingren, I...must say, this revelation definitely gives me a few ideas for you...I'll call you all when I finish my business."

The Ablah General departed, leaving the five trainees alone again. Vaygar, Phillip and Kludd exchanged glances with one another, and then the latter most whistled in awe.

"Wow..." Kludd whispered, genuinely impressed. "That's...quite an achievement."

"Do you remember any of it? What's it like?" Vaygar prodded.

"I...I don't know, I was, like, two or something. I don't remember now."

"Must we talk about this in front of...certain owls?" Phillip butted in, a concerned frown on his beak. He motioned over to Uklah, who had not joined the group; instead, she'd wandered a bit further away from all of them, back turned to them.

"What's wrong with her?" Ginger asked them.

"...Why don't you go ask her yourself?" Phillip suggested. "She can tell you more than I can. 'Will she?' is the question I have. though."

The three buffs stepped away from her, then formed their own conversation. Deciding to follow Phillip's advice, she approached Uklah from behind, making sure the sound of her talons clacking against the stone floor was obvious enough as not to startle her.

"So...You did pretty well with that, huh?" she congratulated. "...Are we still on at your place later?"

"...Can I ask you something?"

"Um...Sure thing."

"Why exactly did you leave your hollow and go out into the ocean?"

Ginger tensed; Nyra had asked her this the previous morning, and she'd become too upset to give her all the details, it's been so soon after she'd arrived...But almost a full day had gone by since then, and now, seeing that it seemed important to her fellow Tyto Alba, she decided to try it again.

"...Family issues, to put it plainly. My brother basically drove me insane, and...I snapped. I had to leave, knowing I might...be dangerous to them, isn't that funny?"

She forced out a laugh, trying to take it lightly.

"...You have a brother?"

"Yeah...Unfortunately," she mumbled.

"...Is he still alive?"

Ginger's gaze hardened just the tiniest bit; this was an odd question...But, then again, when she said that she'd 'snapped,' perhaps she should have made it more obvious at just who she lost her cool at.

"As far as I know," the owl answered. "Last time I saw him, he was under my mothers wing, fast asleep in the nest. He was like that as I was leaving."

"The last I saw of my sibling was in the nest, too."

"...What do you mean?"

There was a long pause before Uklah continued. Finally, she sighed, then rolled her eyes a bit at herself.

"My sister, Lila...I only knew her for five years, but she was wonderful. Loves me to pieces and was...She was just so soft-spoken for someone so young...but she was lovely, I tell you. An absolute angel...And then she caught it."

"She...Oh..."

"Alba Pox, I mean. Nobody expected it, nobody knew where it came from...My mother and aunt worked their down clean off doing everything they could for her. Same for me. And...she was just...so frightened when she found out she might..."

She shook her head.

"I told her night in and night out that no matter what happened, we'd heal her, make her well again. Promised her every single day for ten days straight that she'd live. That she'd be alright...Then, one night, it looked like some of the sores were starting to close up, and she was awake just a bit more often that day; less pain, less tears...It looked like she was finally starting to heal, and she told me...She told me I kept my promise, and that I was right when I said she would be fine, that I was right all along...I stayed right there with her all that night and all through to the next morning, and I didn't just hope she was getting better...I thought I knew it. Thought my prayers had finally been answered. When the moon rose that evening, the first thing I did was check to see how much better she'd gotten over the day..."

That was where she stopped. And it didn't take a doctor to know what happened next.

"...Dead," Uklah finished, the last word barely coming out a breath, and her expression blank.

Ginger was at a loss for words. She never would have imagined it...

"That's...not good," she answered.

"...You don't know how lucky you are, to be standing here right now. So few owls have ever been known to recover..."

She trailed off, and turned her head away, shaking it in sorrow.

"So...What happened afterward? What brought you here?" the other leia inquired.

Uklah drew in a deep breath, then let it out through her nares.

"...After Lila passed on, I was an only child. My mother and aunt didn't want to lose me, too, so from then on, they were a bit...overprotective of me. They were afraid I might end up choking on a bone sticking out of a kill, or fall from the nest somehow. You know...To compensate for my restrictions, they started to get their talons on books from wandering traders...That's how I got to be such a bookworm, as Madame General puts it. It wasn't that bad. They were just trying to keep me safe."

"So...Did you have a father?"

She shook her head 'no'.

"Overheard one evening between Mum and Aunt Canterbury he was an adulterer; I was hatched out of winglock. They never spoke his name, so...I never knew it. And I can't say I ever knew him...But whatever. It was me, my mum and aunt all living in the same hollow. For a few good long years, that is...Then, the time came where I was about to start branching. They were nervous; thought I was going to fall onto the forest floor and get snatched up by a raccoon. The night before they were going to let me step out onto the branches, they decided to celebrate. They said to me they were going to get a nice, big rabbit for breaklight in honor of my First Branching Ceremony to-be, and the two of them left."

"And...?"

"...They...never came back."

"What happened?"

"It's a mystery to this day. I waited a full day for them. I knew something was wrong; it didn't take this long to fetch a rabbit. So, I...I tried to go out and look for them."

"So...Did you fly, or did you..."

"You can imagine. I didn't know how to flap, when to flap, or how to work the back rudder," she answered, tilting her tail feathers to one side to insinuate this. "If they hadn't disappeared, their worst fears would have been confirmed right before their eyes...Then again, if they'd been there, then...They probably could have done something about it. I managed to grab hold of a lower tree branch of another tree before I could get to the forest floor. I wasn't sure who I could turn to for help, but...I started calling out for it. Wasn't too long before a couple of Pure One patrols came to my aid, and they brought me here. And I've been here ever since."

"I'm...I'm sorry all that happened. Nobody should have to go through all that."

"Oh, I've really bounced back, though," Uklah replied. "Do you know just how _amazed_ I was when I saw the library here for the first time? I was mesmerized; I wanted to pull every single book from every single shelf and not stop until I'd skimmed through every page. Ha! Ah...I'm almost a quarter of the way there. Anyways, Nyra explained it all to me and I happily accepted the offer to join them. It was just Vaygar, Kludd, and a Masked Owl named Gebbles that was with us for a short while. He was only here for around two weeks; left the squadron. I hear he's working somewhere in the Canyonlands, now. The frontlines made him squeamish...I'm content. Happy here, even. And it seems to me that happiness can be contagious in some ways. So, I just...keep smiling. I've a lot to look forward to, now, don't I? A new purpose, future success, a nice hollow to call my own, friends...It's everything an owl needs, ain't it?"

"Hm..." Ginger hummed thoughtfully, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I mean...I'll be completely honest with you; whenever something about my old home comes up, I'm a bit...turned off by it for a bit, as you just saw...But like I said, I bounce back; not a problem. You can't keep me down for long, you know?"

"Guess not...So, whadaya think the next round's gonna have us do?"

"Hmmmm..." Uklah fake-pondered, a sly grin inching its way across her beak. "Well, maybe she'll have us go picking through owl's pellets to find things the mice ate."

"Augh, gross...! You can't be serious, can you!?"

"No."

"AHHHH. Had me for a second, there."

The two leias continued to chat, and Nyra wrote down the new scores on her piece of parchment. The ink on her quill was beginning to run low; she thought it wise to dunk it again before the final round, seeing that she barely had enough to write down the new numbers with.

-**_Kludd: 8  
-Vaygar: 13  
-Ginger: 1_**_5_**_  
-Phillip: _**_12_**_  
-Uklah: _**_1__2_

It looked like Vaygar had this in the bag. Even if Kludd came out on top the next round, he would still end up being at the bottom, if not tied with Phillip or Uklah if they ended up doing poorly. Maybe the Grass Owl hadn't been so wrong to refer to himself as the leader of the squadron, after all. Besides, he was a splendid flyer.

It likely wouldn't take much effort for him to soar over the rest of the competition in the final trial.


	11. Chapter 10: Round 5: Flight

Time seemed to pass quickly, and didn't seem like very long until Nyra had all of the young Tytos assembled outside, ready for the final trial. Ginger silently marveled at the size of the Pure One palace; it was taller than any manmade building she'd ever seen in the city she passed by as she left her old home. And standing at its very base made it look all the more gigantic. It was astounding.

"Alright, young ones," the Ablah General announced, snapping the young Alba out of her amazed trance. "Are we ready for the final competition?"

"Ready and set, General Ma'am!" Vaygar announced with a quick salute of his wing.

"Excellent. The final test will be fairly straight forward...A simple race, along the circumference of the spire. Whoever completes a lap first is the winner."

The Grass Owl held back a smirk. He was the best flyer on the team, and he knew it.

"A few rules, though, before we begin," Nyra added. "First off, there is to be no physical skirmish among racers in order to gain an advantage. Any owl that I catch doing this will have points subtracted, and in turn, given to the owl on the receiving side of the conflict. And second, you can fly low if you wish, but keep in mind that the lower you fly, the wider the spire will be, and the longer it will take to complete the lap. I will only allow owls to fly as high as the halfway point, and shortcutting through the palace by means of entryways is prohibited. Owls will be disqualified if they try this. And trust me; they will not get away with it if they try. I just so happen to have put guards at these openings in order to prevent this...Everybody get all that?"

She was met with a series of nods.

"Then let us begin...Line up beside each other, now, owlets. And give each other enough room to spread your wings."

They obeyed, lining up beside each other and stretching their wings out, ready to begin. While they sorted that out, Nyra took the opportunity to gather up several clawfuls of small rocks scattered across the barren ground and place them in a row. This line of rocks marked where the trainees had to both begin and end the lap.

"That's settled, then. I'll depart to a place to watch from. Wait until you hear the signal. It will also sound once everyone has completed the lap."

"What's the signal?" Kludd asked her.

"You'll know it when you hear it, soldier," she answered him, spreading her own wings. "In the mean time, you all best be on your marks."

As the Ablah General took to the air, Ginger drew in the deep breath, then took a quick glance at each of the other competitors. Kludd was still exercising his wings, Uklah was acting fidgety, tapping her claws against the stony ground and also scanning over the rest of the group, Phillip seemed to be clearing his mind in preparation for when the signal to begin was given, and Vaygar just stood where he was, casually preening himself a bit. He didn't seem too concerned with the outcome of this race.

Ginger readied her wings and got into a springing position, looking ahead to determine how she should go about this. It wouldn't be long before Nyra sounded off the...

An ear-piercing screech rang across the Beaks, coming from the apex of the Pure One palace itself.

That was the signal.

And with that, the five were off.

Vaygar was off to the best start, gaining the lead right from the takeoff. Phillip attempted to pass him by from right behind, but the Grass Owl's deep wing beats were too far stretched and too swift to pass him from quite so close. Uklah tried to usurp him by flying over top of him, but he countered this by making a sharp and sudden bank to port side, making the young leia stagger, then ultimately fall behind.

Ginger and Kludd weren't far behind the other three, and were about neck and neck. Kludd was a strong flyer, but Ginger noted that he struggled to gain momentum. He was a bulky owl, especially for one his age, and the added muscle weight served as a curse as much as it did a blessing; it slowed his flight. Ginger saw the opportunity to pass him by when he was busy flapping harder. They were all fairly high off the ground at this point, and now that she had the speed and height, she knew how she could increase her speed.

She folded her wings about halfway, stooping down and shooting towards the earth like an arrow, then tilted back up and spread them back out. The speed at which she flew had increased threefold, and her swiftness was maintained through smaller flaps. She didn't want to wear herself out, now that she was going at a more than decent pace.

Vaygar had been focusing on the positions of Uklah and Phillip especially, since he last saw the other two owls falling a ways behind, so when the newbie passed him up from not far below, he was fairly shocked.

There was no way she could be flying so effortlessly unless she'd taken advantage of a dive at some point. Now seeing that his competition was smarter than he thought, he took the opportunity to do the same, momentarily falling behind Phillip and Uklah, who were now too concentrated on each other to notice what was going on below. Vaygar spread his wings again, and a smirk formed across his dusky facial disc when he saw that he was gaining on the young leia that's gotten past him.

He tried to sneak past her from the port side, but Ginger caught him out of the corner of her eye, and stooped into a milder dive to not only gain a bit more speed, but also a greater lead. The Grass Owl emitted a frustrated growl. He was the most adept flyer on the force. Losing a meager race to a rookie owl would be an absolute disgrace!

_Not gonna let that happen..._ he decided.

He pumped his wings even harder. He and Ginger had passed the halfway mark by now, and they were approaching the final stretch. The others had all fallen behind; all three of them had already determined that they weren't going to win first place, but they at least tried to pass up each other. Ginger combated this strategy by doing the same; they'd almost completed the lap, and if she was going to wear herself out at all, now was the time to do it. She and Vaygar were tied for first, each struggling to get a big enough lead against the other. Finally, the Grass Owl decided that he'd had enough of this nonsense.

He barreled off to the starboard side, colliding with his rival flyer and sending her spiraling off to the side. He recovered from the impact by spreading and tilting his wings to re-even his flight pattern.

...Now it was Ginger's turn to become angry.

Still spiraling, she tried to figure out which way she was going, and noted that she was going ever faster towards the earth, spinning like a corkscrew...

...A corkscrew.

She spread her wings again, and kept them just slightly bent as she flapped them; the spiral might have knocked her back, but now it had doubled...Tripled...Quadrupled her speed, and she locked her eyes on Vaygar. He was nearing the end of the lap, but she was gaining fast.

But was she fast enough?

She wasn't about to wait to find out, and she tilted her wings one way, then used the force of her entire body to spin as she flew, cutting through the air like an arrow. The Grass Owl was oblivious to her coming up from behind, only focusing on his target.

She got beneath him, and just when they crossed over the point at which they started, she whizzed ahead of him, sending a gust of air beneath him and throwing his lower half forward, finally slowing his flight. He watched in utter disbelief as Ginger lowered herself to the ground, tilted her wings forward, then skidded to a halt along the stony earth as she staggered to keep from falling forward, her black claws scraping across the dark rock and leaving uneven white marks in their trail.

Ginger's fatigue caught up to her, and she stood there, huffing and puffing, unaware of half of the things going on around her. All she wanted to do was just look down at her talons planted on the grey, rocky ground.

She was so out of it that she didn't notice the tall figure coming towards her until it was standing right in front of her, and Ginger noticed she was staring down at TWO sets of owls' talons now, instead of just one. She looked up to face the white-feathered figure before her.

"That..." Nyra began. "...Was some of the finest flying I've ever seen from any owl your age. The corkscrew is one of the most difficult maneuvers to execute properly, and you did so with flying colors. And using it to recover from a mid-flight collision? Truly an astounding accomplishment."

"So..." she panted. "...Who...who won?"

"Who do you think?"

"What...Me...Where's Vaygar...? I'd like to...I wanna give him...a piece or two of my...my mind, you know."

"I have you covered in that department," the queen smirked. "Vaygar! Front and center!"

The Grass Owl, also breathless, approached.

"Yeah, yeah, your Pureness?" he wheezed. "Who won...? I won, right...?"

"It was too close to call, soldier."

"So...So then both...both of us won, then..."

"I should say not," she reprimanded him, and Vaygar shrunk back when he saw that she was annoyed. "Having witness the incident myself, I say it doesn't matter who crossed the line first, or by how much. I remember saying that physical interference among racers to gain an advantage is prohibited, and that any owl I caught in the act would have their points subtracted, and in turn, given to the owl on the receiving side of the conflict."

"What...You...But I still...I would have..." he stammered. "...Y-you can't do that!"

"As your trainer, as Ablah General of St. Aggies, and as the second highest authority over the ENTIRETY of Pure Ones, I can, and I very well WILL, Mr. Leader Buff, _sir._"

Vaygar just shook his head, waiting to scowl until he'd turned away from the two Tyto Albas, and joined the rest of the losers. Uklah found the whole situation very amusing.

"...So, did the flyer flop?"

"I'm not in the mood, Uklah."

"Hey, so much for your toutin,' eh, 'top of the pile,' buff?"

"Kludd, I swear to Glaux-"

"That you're a sore loser?"

"Oh, forget this!"

He stormed away to give himself solitude for a while, and the other three owls went to congratulate Ginger for her accomplishment. As they praised her maneuver and asked her if she could somehow teach them how to pull it off, Nyra went back to the scoreboard. Vaygar had taken a blow in this last round, and she had a mind to put him in last place...But he would have likely come in second if he hadn't did what he did, so she decided to give him two points instead of just the one, Kludd taking up that spot, as he'd actually proven to be the slowest flyer of all of them. Nyra tallied up the last round of points, and the owl with the highest score would be awarded the position as leader.

She wrote down the final results and looked over everything, once twice, thrice...Her eyes narrowed, then grew wider, and she read over everything one more time, still not convinced of what she was seeing.

-**_Kludd: 9  
-Vaygar: 15  
-Ginger: 20_****_  
-Phillip: 15_****_  
-Uklah: 16_**


	12. Chapter 11: A Mob of Crows

"So, ah, your Pureness, ma'am," Uklah said as she and the four trainees approached. "That was the last one, right? So...Who's the winner?"

"What, what?"

She barely even heard her, she was too busy looking over the parchment over and over again.

"Oh...Oh, yes. It, ah...It appears as though we do have a winner," she replied, seeming to be a bit dazed with her own shock. "Go, go get Vaygar, everyone should line up for this."

She did just that, and Phillip, Vaygar, Ginger, Kludd, and then Uklah herself lined up in order from left to right, anticipating the announcement. Nyra looked over the small crowd, and then her parchment again, then back to the other owls, and she exhaled through an open beak.

"Well...The winner of the trials...The one who harbors the greatest potential, and possessing the most all around skill, taking the lead by a whopping five points is..."

Their eyes slowly grew wider, the suspense intensifying.

"...Ginger."

The owls froze, and then they all exchanged glances with one another. The four all looked to Ginger, who joined them in looking back at the Ablah General, who stared right back.

And that was Kludd, Vaygar and Ginger herself burst out into a laughing fit.

Nyra stepped back, somewhat startled by the sudden and very unexpected reaction to her announcement.

"That's your best one yet!" Vaygar hooted.

"Ha! Almost had me for a second with that one...!" Kludd added.

"I didn't know you cracked jokes like that!" the rookie chimed in.

Phillip and Uklah remained silent, and looked at the laughing crowd, then each other, then back at Nyra. The white owl raised a feathery brow in insinuation.

"...Holy hagsmire, she's serious..." the Sooty Owl whispered.

"Ha ha...Ha...That's, that was hilarious, General Ma'am," Kludd chortled, the laughter finally dying down among them. "So, now, tell us, who actually won?"

"Ginger, Kludd," she said yet again. "You can think it's funny, but this is no joke. Take a look at the scoreboard."

"Ha, but...I mean, that's...What?"

He, Vaygar, and the young Barn Owl in question all came over to peer over Nyra's shoulder to look at the parchment, Phillip and Uklah doing the same soon afterward. They all looked over the writing on the paper to meet something none of them had expected.

Ginger, whose name was the third in the column, had a whopping score of 20, with her runner-up Vaygar being a good five points behind.

"...She's not joking," Vaygar realized, staggering backwards, now entering a stupefied daze himself.

Phillip was also in disbelief. Sure, he figured that he likely wouldn't come out on top, but this was FAR beyond what he thought possible.

Uklah wasn't quite as bothered by it as the others, but still wore an expression of bewilderment.

Kludd was about to enter a panic.

"Oh, no...No, no, no, w-we need to do all that again, that...She just joined the force, she...She doesn't have what it takes, does she? She must have just gotten lucky."

Ginger was just...frozen, staring off into oblivion.

"Well...Rookie or not, young Tyto, you, ah...You seem to have emerged victorious. I don't have any choice but to uphold my promise. You, Ms. Wingren...are, according to the numbers, along with your performance, now the official leader of the trainee squadron, only under my command."

"...But..." she asked. "...How? I was...The only thing I won was the race."

"That may be the case...But I said that the owl with the most well-rounded skill would be made leader. Each of you specialize in a different field, be it raw strength, the power of knowledge or flight capabilities...But you are the one who has the most over all potential out of all. I scored all of you by performance for each trial, and, by average, you score a 4 in each course. I will admit, I...was not at all expecting this to happen, but...A contest is a contest, and I won't nullify your win just because you've just joined the force...In fact, since you are so new, it makes me wonder what those skills of your will be like ten years from now. No doubt, if things keep going this way, you could be a Pure One Elite one day, placed among the strongest of the strong."

"...Okay, that admittedly makes more sense, but...I guess...I don't know; this is kind of...overwhelming. I mean, I just got here, and I'm already being put in charge of a bunch of other owls. Like...WHO does that happen to?"

"Hmm...I do see your point. Then what say I give you the rundown on leading a squadron myself? I've been at the top of many in my day, I'll have you know."

"...That sounds...like it might work. But still. You're sure about this?"

"Quite positive. Unless, of course, you would rather I just give the position to Vaygar..."

THAT was what got Ginger to lean in the other direction a bit more.

"Ah, no, no, I didn't say that! It just...Ah...Eh...You know what? I...I guess we can give it a try. I mean...The numbers don't lie. What could go wrong?"

"Excellent. We start your leader training effective immediately."

"Now!?"

"Alright, Tytos, assemble! I've a new formation for the five of you. Now, if you'll just stand where I lead each of you..."

Nyra positioned the five owlets in another assembly; Ginger was placed in the front of the group, Vaygar to her left just behind her, Uklah off to the buff's right, and then she placed Kludd right behind her, Phillip remaining at the back of the formation. Nyra finished her work by putting herself in front of Ginger.

"Ready for takeoff, Tytos!" she ordered them, stretching her wings out. "We're going for a spot of night flight."

* * *

_..._

* * *

The six Tytos soared over the rocky plains of the Beaks. A small, dry shrub grew out from the cracks in the stone here and there, but the terrain was otherwise barren. The rock spires cast their shadows across the plains in the light of the moon, and while the stars continued to shine, there were less of them, now; it wouldn't be too much longer until they all faded, and the soft moonlight was overriden by the brightness of dawn.

"So...What exactly are we doing here?" Ginger asked the white owl flying just ahead of her.

"I've seen what you can do to a dummy, Tyto," Nyra answered her. "Now I'd like to see what you can do to a REAL opponent. They aren't usually out at this hour, but if I can arouse them from hiding, maybe you can show me what you can do against them!"

"Who's 'them?'"

"You're about to find out," Kludd said from behind.

The Ablah General inhaled, then emitted a piercing screech that spread across the stone fields. It didn't take long after the echoing stopped for a new sound to make itself present; fast, messy wingbeats by the dozen, and a series of caws that answered the Barn Owl's scream. A black mass formed in the atmosphere, and the mob of enemies came flying right for them.

_...Crows,_ Ginger realized.

"That's...an awful lot of them, isn't it?" she shuddered.

"Nothing we haven't handled before! There may be a lot, but they're primitive, and frail on their own; just go right in for the kill! Alright, owlets! Ready your talons!"

The dark mass of savage birds grew closer, and every owl but Ginger herself opened their claws, ready to attack the oncoming swarm.

"Is there any particular way to do this...!?" Ginger wondered aloud in a panicked rasp.

"That's the thing," Uklah answered her. "We have to figure that part out ourselves; develop our own combat strategies. See what you can do! Incoming!"

The moment she finished was the moment one of the crows in the mob collided with her open talons, only to be grabbed by the chest and spun violently around, blood flying, before being thrown towards the ground, good as dead.

Ginger was still in a dazed state of shock, and only shakily dodged the bombardments the mob threw at her as she tried to make out what her fellow trainees were doing. Vaygar confounded his attackers with swift feint attacks before landing surprise blows to them, Phillip weaved through the openings in the mob, talons open and striking something every moment, and Uklah continued to go right for the vital areas of the birds to do them in. Kludd's battle strategy was the most brutal, by far; he had one of the dead bodies of his victims in his talons, and was using it as a flail to stun the others, and then struck them with all his strength in a single blow with his immensely strong talons while they were vulnerable. It only took him one or two hits to kill a crow this way.

_Impressive..._ she said to herself at the sight of the brawny buff.

That was when she felt a slash from behind, hitting her just below her head and taking off a few of her feathers. The crow in question flew off before her, talons bloodied, and she could feel the scratch wounds begin to sting. This was a desperate situation, so she continued to evade the assault.

"What are you doing, child!?"

Nyra was the one who called out to her. She, too, was participating in the battle. She was swift and thorough; with every crow she killed, she use a different method of attack, whichever one worked best at the moment. The Ablah General had the element of surprise on her side, and she was the best out of anyone in this fight.

"Fight back! Kill! Show me your offensive skill!"

A deeper caw rang out among the mob from below, catching the attention of all the owls.

"Heads up, Tytos!" Nyra alerted them. "Here comes the chieftain!"

The chieftain of the mob was a raven, and was far larger than any of the crows, and far more fierce.

"Hey, now's your chance!" Uklah shouted. "Team attack!"

The five of them went right for the target bird. The raven's deadliest attribute was its intelligence, being quite a bit smarter than its underlings, and it used these wits to its advantage. It had been giving its henchmen orders from under the fight the whole time, and only emerged now to go up against the team of owls, having as much a means to defend itself as much as it could attack, and the trainees found that this was a particularly formidable chieftain, even with all of them attacking it at once.

"This is the toughest one I've seen yet...!" Uklah huffed, recovering from a wound the enemy had inflicted on her leg. "Ging', what are you doing!? Get in here!"

Ginger was busy thinking, knowing that this situation could turn even more dangerous at any moment. That raven wouldn't go down so easily. What she needed to do was...

_Nyra..._

She needed the element of surprise on her side if she was to go up against it in any manner...And she knew just what to do.

She let out a series of sharp screeches to gain the attention of the horde. The raven especially took interest in the solo fighter; it was alone, and therefore, an easy target.

Once Ginger saw that the mob was going after her, she stooped her wing down and went into a dive, the black blob in the sky hot on her tail. She spread her wings again, the crows following her every movement in attempt to catch up with her. The other owls watched in awe and in horror at what Ginger was trying to do.

"I hope she knows what she's doin'," Vaygar remarked. "Or it might end bad!"

"I'll see to it that they don't," Nyra assured him. "...But I'd like to see where this goes."

Ginger looked behind her every so often, gradually flying slower as she continued to evade the pursuit of the mob. The chieftain was nearly upon her, and his legion of crows had fallen somewhat behind. Now was the time; she stooped into another dive, and her pursuer did the same...

Only to be thrown off by the owl suddenly turning to face him, claws open.

He wasn't fast enough to avoid the powerful talons, and they grabbed his face, claws sinking into his flesh and blood and their sheer power crushing his head from the inside. Ginger could feel the skull fragments and brain mush together into a pulp, and blood spurted from his ears and beak, and through the punctures her black claws had made in his head.

Then, she let go, and watched as the dead body of the raven spiraled to the ground, still trailing red behind it.

The other crows tore their attention from the young Barn Owl, frozen in place at the sight of their leader plummeting to the earth below.

But their fear was quick to curdle into rage, and they came at her again, even more intent on tearing her to shreds. Without a leader, however, they were clueless on how to approach, and came at her with only their brute force.

That was when the bloodbath began; Ginger began to pick them off, using every method she'd seen used by her fellow trainees so far as they attacked. A lethal jab to the heart on one, two feints, then a blow to the head on another, a swoop and a jab on a whole array of them...The massacre continued, and the other owls watching the scene decided to get back in on the action.

"Ha!" Nyra puffed. "I had a feeling she was up to something!"

"Let's get in there!"

Kludd re-entered the battlefield in a flying charge, coming to join his fellow trainee. She had just killed another crow by crushing its heart from the outside, and had its corpse by the talons, using it as a weapon.

"This look familiar, Kludd!?"

"You're speakin' my unspoken language! Lemme at 'em!"

"You heard the owl!" Uklah hollered. "Let's annihilate them!"

Ginger tossed the dead crow to her comrade Kludd, and he grabbed it just in time to swing it into the band of five that was upon him, sending the blood of their own kind splattering across their black plumage and into their eyes. That was when he threw the body at them, then launched himself into the crows and killed them all with just a few strong grabs and stabs. Vaygar and Uklah picked off the ones that were already injured easily, and Phillip continued his flying assault. Their sheer numbers had lost their strength; without anyone to lead them, the band of crows was near helpless against the owls, and it wasn't long until the vast mob had been reduced to nothing more than a wingful of the black birds, and the few that were left finally realized they were outmatched, and fled the scene. Their fallen brethren littered the stony ground, painting the grey stone black and crimson.

Nyra let out a sharp, quip screech, then lead the five younger owls to the ground towards the palace, leaving the massacre behind. She was in absolute awe at what she'd just witnessed from them all.

"That..." she stated. "Was the finest mob session I've ever seen from you owls. And a good part in thanks to your new leader."

"You're serious about all this, huh?" Ginger realized.

"You are not even aware of what you are capable of. You haven't even had out-and-out battle training yet, and you killed nearly as many crows as anyone else. Perhaps you would have exceeded them, had you not started so late...And your strategy. Distracting the head of the enemy force and downing it, so that its followers are left confused and vulnerable? A stroke of genius. That little maneuver may be what made this assault on the crows the fastest and bloodiest I've yet seen from all of you. Young Ginger, I believe that you are exactly what this force needs; someone with a bit of everything; strength, speed, wit. You've even got the charisma!"

"I do?"

"More than you even know...However, you must harness these traits, and learn to use them to their full potential in order to be an effective leader of any squadron. I will continue to take you through personal training, Tyto. Each and every night, you will learn more about what exactly you're made of, and just what you can do. I'll call you back into the training grounds tomorrow evening, and we can begin. Understood?"

"Yes, General Ma'am," she nodded, a smile inching its way across her beak.

"Excellent...You know, I had a feeling about you the whole time that you were more than you made yourself out to be."

"Did you feel it in your gizzard?"

"...That is exactly right," the Ablah General answered. "...Alright, owlets! Today was fairly eventful, so I will dismiss you all early. Free flight."

They all nodded and agreed with this eagerly.

"Oh, and Ginger," Nyra reminded her, readying to take off and leave her trainees to their own accords. "Just make sure you don't let your position get to your head, am I clear?"

"Yes, General Ma'am," she nodded again.

And with that, the white owl spread her wings all the way and took into the slowly brightening sky.

"Hey...Good work up there, team," Ginger said to her fellow Tytos. "If we impressed her, then we MUST have been good."

"You're in a good place with her," Uklah smirked. "That means good things for you, if ya keep it up."

"Hey, mate," Vaygar added, stepping up to her. "Eh...Sorry 'bout the whole thing during the last competition with me knockin' you of course. Guess I got my comeuppance for it in the end, though, eh?"

"Ah, no hard feelings. Hey, I should really thank you; if not for that stunt, I wouldn't have gotten the position."

The other owls laughed at this testament, and the Grass Owl rolled his eyes in an amused manner.

"Heh...You ain't so bad. I could get used to this, really...So, Phillip. What say you and I spar on the half spire?"

"Figuring from what went on tonight, I'd say my talons could use more of a work out...I'll take you up on that."

"Cool. Catch you guys later!"

Vaygar flew off towards the plateau, the Sooty Owl close behind him. The three Tyto Albas stood in a group by themselves.

"Nice flyin' out there," Kludd said to the proclaimed leader of the squadron.

"Thanks."

"So, um...I figured I came off as...sorta weird earlier today, and I wanted to, like...apologize for that, you know?"

"Not a problem; never really came to mind much."

"No? Oh. Good. So...We get the night off in three more days, so...I was planning on heading over to the oasis to see if there were any scuppers blowing. Does that, uh...interest you at all? Like, riding them, I mean?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"That's okay, you didn't have to...Wait, what?"

"I said sure."

"Oh. Oh...Well...That's great. Em...I'm gonna head off and see if I can get on the action on the half spire. You two comin'?"

"I dunno. I'm kinda beat. Maybe tomorrow. I think I'm gonna go see if I can find something for my gizzard to grind."

"Alright, then. Uh, see you later, Ginger."

"See ya."

He turned and flew off to join his two other companions. Ginger and Uklah took off for the palace.

"Well...That was all, uh...entertaining, wasn't it?"

Uklah didn't answer her right away, instead flashing a cynical grin her way, making an...odd face.

"...What?"

"I should have known why he was acting all weird around you back in the trainee hollow."

"What do you mean by that?"

Oh, good Glaux. She's oblivious, Uklah smirked, resisting the urge to laugh out loud.

"Eh...I'll let you figure it out yourself. Ey, come on. There might be some mice pokin' around the crevices. After that, how about I give you that promised tour of my hollow?"

"I like the way you think," Ginger complimented. The two of them flew into the massive opening that served as the main entrance to the palace. As they did, Ginger realized...

This palace, and the Owl Kingdoms as a whole, as well as the other Pure Ones...

This was her home, now. And they were her friends.

She was among some of the greatest legions of owls she could ever have known of. Training with them. Fighting with them.

One of them.

_Oh, I think I'm going to like this place..._


	13. Chapter 12: Shock and Truth

Three days had passed since Ginger had been appointed leader of the trainee squadron, and she and Kludd had just gotten back from their planed outing at the oasis of the Mirror Lakes. She was flying into the entrance to the base, Kludd alongside her, and the two of them met Nyra in the middle of the Main Hall. Ginger took notice of the fact that she had three owls behind her; one very large and white with black speckling and soft, motherly yellow eyes, and the other two being robust Pure One soldiers, complete with helmet and battleclaws.

"How'd it go with the scuppers, owlets?"

"Man..." Ginger huffed. "Those are STRONG. Good thing Kludd knew a thing or two about them, or I might have been blown into the water."

"Ha! Well, you don't master riding currents overnight, so you two keep at it; they strengthen the wings well."

"Aye, General, Ma'am," Kludd saluted. "Alright, Ging', I'm headin' over to my quarters. You wanna tag?"

"Go ahead of me; I'll meet you there."

"Cool," he nodded, a light pink tinge showing beneath the white feathers of his face. "See you then."

He spread his wings and headed to his own stone hollow. Ginger was curious about the three other owls behind the Ablah General.

"What's going on here?"

"Ah, yes. We wanted a word, young Ginger. Gort and Tonk have returned from their expedition into the outside; I sent them out around the same time I did Jatt and Jutt, just in the case things went...awry, so to speak. They found an owlet trying to tread water several miles from the shore on a windy day, and had to pull him out. They brought him to the Academy for Orphaned Owlets in the Beaks to get him patched up. This here is Finny; a pit guardian at the Academy. She looks after several groups of owlets there."

The Snowy Owl stepped forward to greet the young Barn Owl.

"So, you're the young owl from the outside, are you?" she smiled, her voice sweet and happy-sounding. "Well, it is a pleasure, dear! Nyra was just telling me about how you snagged your win in the trials she held for you trainees. Liking it here so far?"

"Sure am," she nodded. "I can't say I expected all of this to happen two weeks ago, though."

"I'm sure it was a surprise. But anyways, we came to ask you about the owlet we found."

"Uh...Me?" she questioned, not sure how she was significant in this matter. "Why me?"

"Well, young Miss Ginger...So he claims, he was looking for...You."

"What?"

"Gort, Tonk, bring the child forth," Nyra commanded.

The two helmed owls stepped aside, revealing the owlet standing behind them.

Ginger's gizzard turned to stone upon the sight of him, in sick denial of who she was really looking at.

The Barn Owlet was none other than her own brother, Felix!

She stood there unmoving as he eagerly came to meet her, wings open.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed, hopping up and down before flinging his fledging wings around his sister. "I knew I'd be able to find you!"

His gesture and words finally made her come back to her senses, and she realized that this was very real. A rush of horror went down her spine, just for a brief moment, before it was overtaken by a far more powerful surge of energy.

Rage.

Blue eyes burning, she opened her own wings and, with a livid hiss, shoved Felix away from her. Nyra could have sworn she saw the leia's eyes shine with a spark of scarlet.

"HOW DID YOU FIND ME!?" she hollered, not an ounce happy at their reunion.

Felix was undeterred by her fury.

"Mom and Dad went out looking for you, and they couldn't find you anywhere, so a few days after you went missing, I decided to go look for you myself, and it was storming when I tried to go out, and then a HUGE gust o' wind blew me away, and I was carried to the ocean, and I fell in! I thought I was gonna die, but those two guys swooped down and rescued me, and now I'm here, and so are you! And now we can go home and-"

"I'm not going ANYWHERE WITH YOU!" she denied. "YOU'RE THE REASON I LEFT IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

"Eh...What?"

He was confused. What did she mean by that?

"You're a LUNATIC and you don't even realize it! You drove me to lashing out at my own parents! I had to leave because I put ALL of you in DANGER, because of YOU!"

Now Felix was beginning to shrink back.

"But...But what about Mom and Dad?"

"What about them!? I'll tell you what about them! Why did you LEAVE them! You went out to try and find me even though you can't even FLY!? You IDIOT! Now they have NO children! And it's YOUR fault! What do you think you did to them!? What do you think you did to ME!? You drove me out, and now HERE WE ARE in the South Pacific Ocean, THOUSANDS of miles from the U.S. in a place that humans never found, with a bunch of other owls living here! How do you expect us to get back home!? And even if you did, you would NEVER get me to come with you! Ever! You want to know why!? Because this IS my home now! I'm NEEDED! I'm APPRECIATED! I'm not DRIVEN to madness by you being a NUTJOB anymore with the things you do! If it weren't for YOU, I'd have never left home at all! And I..."

She faltered for a moment, the sheer anger in her gaze slowly fading, and being replaced with a look of sudden realization.

"I...I'd have never been found by the Pure Ones, and...I'd have never gotten here, or given the chance to...join them, and make all of these...Huh."

In a weird way, Felix had also paved the way for her to come across the Tytonic Union in the first place. The owlet cocked his head curiously, seeing that she was suddenly a lot less mad at him.

"...Well," she shrugged. "I guess you did...ONE thing right. I guess I should at least thank you for that."

Now the naïve smile returned to her brother's face. He was very pleased with what she'd just said.

"I, uh, might be able to go back home if anyone else is going out looking for owls again anytime soon," he suggested. "Uh, hey Mrs. General Nyra ma'am, when are there gonna be anymore trips back out there?"

"Hmm...Well, since neither group technically came back 'empty-taloned,' I wasn't planning on it anytime soon...But I'll see if I can arrange another expedition into the outside within the next two months."

"That's great!" Felix cheered. "So, uh, where are you staying, Ginger? Wanna bunk?"

"OVER MY DEAD BODY."

"Oh dear..." Finny fretted. "Erm, perhaps, Felix dear, I could return you to St. Aggies until we arrange something for you? Oh, besides, you haven't met all the other owlets there yet; I'll put you in my groups, and tend to you all from there, alright?"

"Owlets my age?"

"Oh, yes, indeed. Lots of them. I'm sure you'll be kept entertained."

He beamed at this proposal.

"Okay! Can we go now?"

"I was going to head back there now anyways," the Snowy Owl smiled. Gort and Tonk presented the carrier that Felix had been riding in; it was a weaved basket-like structure, complete with a nest lining the inside of it. The Barn Owlet hopped right back into it, Finny flying up and taking it by her thickly feathered talons, sending gusts of air flying with the beats of her large white and black wings, then finally flying off. Ginger was free of him again.

"...What are the odds?" she marveled. "What are the odds that the very thing I'm trying to escape finds me ALL THE WAY out HERE?"

"Not zero, apparently," Nyra pointed out. "...I think Kludd is waiting for you. Care to join him?"

"Oh. Right. Yeah, I don't wanna keep him waiting. I'll, uh, see you for training tomorrow."

"So you will," the Ablah General nodded. She watched the young owl fly off to meet her other party, astounded by the mainlander's swift devotion to the Union. She'd only been training with them for three days, and she already decided that this was her new home? Phillip and Uklah especially took some time to get used to everything, but this? This was amazing steadfastness from any owlet, if she'd ever seen it. And without a doubt, it meant good things for the future of the Pure Ones.

_...Now there goes a soldier in the making._


	14. The Owls and Others

**The owls and others from  
the _Ginger's Adventures_ series  
**

**GINGER**: Barn Owl, _Tyto Alba_, raised in a spruce tree near Chatham, Georgia. Left home at a very young age, found and rescued by the Pure Ones, now among their ranks. Leader of the Trainee Squadron, appointed by Ablah General Nyra, most well-rounded of the five.

**FAMILY:**

**ETHAN**: Father  
**NUTMEG**: Mother  
**FELIX**: Younger Brother, also found and rescued by the Pure Ones after trying to find his lost sibling. Now residing in the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls

* * *

THE PURE ONES

* * *

**NYRA**: Barn Owl, _Tyto Alba_, Ablah General of St. Aegolius and Queen of the Tytonic Union of Pure Ones. Commander of the Trainee Squadron.

**THE TRAINEE SQUADRON:**

**KLUDD**: Barn Owl,_ Tyto Alba_, strongest of the five.  
**VAYGAR**: African Grass Owl, _Tyto Capensis_, best navigator of the five.  
**PHILLIP**: Greater Sooty Owl, _Tyto Tenebricosa_, best tracker of the five.  
**UKLAH**: Barn Owl,_ Tyto Alba_, smartest of the five.

**JATT**: Long-Eared Owl,_ Asio Otus_, Pure One and St. Aggies patrol, cousin of Jutt. Appointed expeditioner.

**JUTT**: Long-Eared Owl, _Asio Otus_, Pure One and St. Aggies patrol, cousin of Jatt. Appointed expeditioner.

**STRYKER**: Barn Owl, Tyto Alba, long-reigning Head of the Army for the Tytonic Union.


End file.
